3 ways to divide a car during a divorce. How is a car divided according to law? How can I keep it?

As statistical data collected from an analysis of judicial practice show, when dividing property, a car is the third most common object of dispute between spouses during divorce proceedings. The first two places are reserved for residential real estate and land plots. Thus, spouses who own a vehicle and are planning to divorce need to know the ways to solve the problem, accumulated by judicial practice and legislation, in order to understand how to correctly divide a car during a divorce and get out of the divorce procedure without material losses.

Estimation of the market value of a car for property division

In order to determine the market value of the car, it is necessary to conduct an Independent appraisal. This assessment is carried out by assessment organizations that have permission for this type of activity. The assessment is carried out in accordance with 135 Federal Law “On Valuation Activities”.

Requirements for an appraisal organization:

1. Experts must be members of the SRO (self-regulatory organization of appraisers).
2. All experts must have the title of expert appraiser and have a specialized education confirmed by a diploma.
3. The company's liability must be insured in accordance with current legislation.

After the assessment, an official bound and printed report is issued, which shows the market value of the car.

Division through court

If the spouses cannot agree on the division of the car, this issue is resolved in court. Usually, in addition to the car, other property has to be divided. But it may also be that the vehicle is the only property in dispute. In any case, before filing a claim, you will need to pay for an independent examination to determine the value of the car.

You will need to evaluate:

• cars older than 5 years;
• transport that was used as a taxi;
• cars purchased from other people;
• cars that have been involved in accidents or require serious repairs.

Who will leave the car during a divorce? What does this depend on?

If the case goes to court, then the judge will make a decision about who will get the car based on the following points:

Each spouse has a driver's license

It happens that a wife, for example, does not have a driver’s license. If this is the case, then the transfer of the car to her will be refused. And the car will remain with the spouse.

To whom will minor children be left?

If there are children in the family, then judges take this fact into account when making a decision. If a school or kindergarten is located far away and a car is needed to transport children, the car can be left with the parent with whom the minor children will remain after the divorce.

Using the machine for work

If one of the spouses has a job that requires travel, then this is also taken into account.

Simple example:

My husband works as a furniture assembler. Orders come from different parts of the city. Yes, and you have to travel to the region. Plus, he will also need to pay child support. If he loses his car, he will lose his job and will not be able to make payments.

The judge will be faced with a difficult task. Legal assistance for each spouse will be very helpful here.

Having children

If the spouses have a common minor child, then when dividing the car, the court will take into account the following factors:

• Is the car used to meet the child's needs, such as traveling to school?
• Does the parent who will live together with the child after the termination of the marriage have a driver's license?

If a combination of these factors is present, the court decides to transfer the asset to the parent who will live together with the child after the divorce, and in return transfer financial compensation or other property from the jointly acquired spouses to the other spouse.

If a car under a purchase and sale agreement belongs to a child who has not reached the age of majority, then dividing the asset is impossible. After a divorce, the parent with whom the child lives gets the right to use the car.

How is a car divided during a divorce if the owner is the husband?

How is a car divided during a divorce, if it is registered to one person? Most often (in practice) it is registered in the name of the husband. According to the documents, he is the owner. And women ask: “So what, I’m not entitled to anything now?”

We can reassure the fair sex. According to the law, if a car was purchased with joint money (which each spouse earned during marriage), it will be shared. And it doesn’t matter that it’s registered to the husband.

However, there are situations where a car is BY LAW the sole property of one of the spouses and is not subject to division.

The legislative framework

When is a car NOT divided in a divorce?

Dividing a car during a divorce is not always possible. In family law there is such a thing as the PERSONAL property of each spouse. This is stated in Article 36 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation.

This type of property includes:

- personal items (clothes, shoes);

-property owned by each spouse before marriage;

- inherited during marriage under a contract of gift or inheritance;

- acquired during marriage with “pre-marital money” or with money received from the sale of pre-marital property;

Accordingly, during a divorce and division of a car, this gives rise to the following situations.

The machine is NOT divided if:

1. was owned by one of you BEFORE marriage.
2. purchased with the personal premarital funds of one of the spouses.
3. my husband sold his premarital car and bought a new one.
4. The car was given as a gift or inherited.

Points 1 and 2 are extremely clear and do not raise any questions. But the remaining two points require important clarification.

For example, a husband sold a pre-marital car for 400 thousand, and bought a new one for 1 million.

600 thousand were added from the family budget. In this case, the car is no longer the sole property of the spouse.

How will the car be divided?

The husband will own the “first part” - in the amount of 400 thousand.

And the remaining 600 thousand will be divided in half between the spouses, since they are already “joint” money of the spouses.

As a result, the husband, if the car is sold during a divorce, will receive 400 + 300 = 700 thousand.

And the wife is only 300 thousand.

Result: If the “personal” money of one of the spouses was partially invested in the purchase of a new car, the car is subject to division. Because the remaining part was bought with joint money.

Now let’s explain the situation with inheritance and donation of a car.

In this case, the car COMPLETELY belongs to the person to whom it was given or to whom it was inherited.

If everything is clear with inheritance, then with “donation” there is a nuance.

A “donation agreement” must be drawn up, and not just “Here, I’m giving!”

For example, your father-in-law, after buying a new car, decided to give the previous one to your wife. Only if he draws up a donation agreement will the car belong to him. If the father-in-law only “gave it” in words, but in reality sold the car for 1 ruble. according to the purchase and sale agreement, the car will legally be joint property and subject to division.

Credit car

How is a car divided during a divorce if the spouses were forced to take out a loan to purchase it?

If the bride or groom borrowed money to buy a car before the wedding, it will be considered the personal indivisible property of the spouse who is the borrower in the transaction. According to family law, such a car cannot be divided during the dissolution of the marriage. The only exception is that if both future spouses acted as borrowers under a loan agreement with a banking organization and jointly purchased a car before registering the marital relationship, then it will be their common property.

If the loan funds for the purchase of a car were taken after the official conclusion of a family union, it does not matter who the agreement was concluded for: the husband, wife or both spouses. Both parties to the marriage are equally responsible for credit debts.

Before starting the divorce procedure, the wife and husband must agree with the banking organization on an acceptable option for dividing the car. Possible options are shown in the table below.

When a car was purchased with funds received as part of consumer rather than targeted lending,

then there are three possible ways to divide this property:

• Determine the shares by court decision that will belong to each of the former participants in the family relationship, and proportionately transfer the debt obligations to the spouses.
• Sell ​​the asset, close the debt, and divide the remaining money in half.
• Transfer the item to one of the spouses and oblige him to pay compensation to the other spouse or give part of other property for the car.

What if you can’t, but really want to? In what cases can you share “someone else’s” car?

The law “gives a loophole” when a car that is the personal property of one of the spouses can still be divided.

For clarity, let us explain with an example

The car belonged to the husband before marriage. Being already married, my husband had the engine overhauled and bought new wheels and tires. Conducted routine repairs to replace brake pads, etc.

And, since the repairs were carried out while already in a marital relationship, the costs of repairs are already considered joint, and therefore subject to division in the event of a divorce.

Therefore, upon divorce, the wife will have the right to receive half of the cost of repairs in cash and claim division of the car.

As they say, if “you can’t, but you really want to,” then you can!

One car for everyone

Nowadays, it is not uncommon for a husband and wife to have their own car. If they were purchased before marriage, given as a gift or inherited, then it is most likely that each spouse will take their own car after the divorce.

Cars purchased during marriage will have to be divided in half. But this is not always possible due to the different prices of these cars. If the husband has an expensive foreign car, and the wife has a domestic Kalina, it would be unfair to leave everyone their car. Although this can be done by agreement or marriage contract.

Example. The husband has a car worth 2,000,000 rubles, the wife has a car worth 500,000 rubles. Then you need: (2000000 500000):2=1250000 rubles. This is the amount to which both spouses are entitled. 1250000-500000=750000 rubles. The husband must compensate his wife for such a sum of money (or other property of a similar amount) upon divorce.

How to establish a ban on sales so that the car is not sold without your knowledge?

Example from practice. Realizing that the wife was going to file for divorce and division of property, the husband sold the car and spent the money. The situation, as they say, has arrived.

Legal advice…

It is difficult to insure against such a situation. In practice, we recommend that you calmly and without informing the other spouse, file a claim in court. And together with the statement of claim, submit a petition to impose a ban on all registration activities with the car. In other words, to ban its sale.

If the second spouse does not know that you have filed a statement of claim, then at the time he is notified by a subpoena, he will have much less time for “this fraud.” And, therefore, there is a high chance that he simply will not have time to “crank out” the sale of the car.

If, nevertheless, the spouse manages to sell the car before the court decision is made, it will be necessary to recognize this transaction as illegal, since permission was not received from the wife. This will significantly complicate and lengthen the process of dividing property. Here you will definitely need the help of a lawyer.

Car arrest

The car may be seized in the following cases:

• Large debt of one of the spouses.
• By judicial determination during divorce proceedings. With its help, you can prevent the other spouse from disposing of the car

  
  at your own discretion.

The arrest only imposes restrictions on the right to dispose of the asset, and therefore is not an obstacle to dividing the car on a general basis.

If the seizure was used by a banking institution as punishment for accumulated unpaid debt, then the issue of dividing the car should be considered in court with the mandatory participation of a bank representative. During the hearing, the judge evaluates the following facts:

1. Which spouse is the borrower under the agreement with the bank?
2. Which of the participants in the marriage donated personal funds to repay the loan and what is the share of each spouse in covering the debt.

Based on an assessment of the above facts, the court will make a decision on the proportion in which the car must be divided.

Frauds involving the division of a car during a divorce. How can you be fooled?

When dividing property, once loving spouses often turn into ardent enemies. When methods are used that allow you to “chop off a bigger piece” or, as people say, “make a goat.” This also applies to the section of the car.

We list the most common methods

The car was sold BEFORE the divorce

We considered this situation in the previous section. We described above how to solve it and how to protect ourselves.

The car was sold AFTER the divorce

Trying to get rid of the need to see their disgusted spouse every day, people first get divorced. And, the division of property is postponed “for later.”

On the one hand, this is good - you are free from each other. But from the part of the division of property this is fraught with a number of dangers.

Example:

The Timofeevs divorced. The division of property was not carried out simultaneously with the dissolution of the marriage. The car remained with my husband.

After some time, the wife finds out that her husband sold the car without her knowledge. And she sues her husband, wanting to get back half the money from the sale of the car.

The scheme of “deception” was as follows. Unofficially, the husband sold the car to the buyer for 800 thousand. And in the purchase and sale agreement, the amount was indicated as 300 thousand.

As a result, the wife will be able to claim not 400 thousand in court, but only 150 thousand.

What to do in this case? How can I get my money back?

It will be necessary in court, firstly, to raise the question of the illegality of this transaction, since it was carried out without the consent of the “former” spouse. Or conduct a forensic merchandising examination, which will establish the REAL value of the car at the time of sale. And now demand compensation of 50% of the real cost.

The car was sold under a deed of gift to a close relative, who issued a power of attorney for the right to drive the car.

Let's give an example from practice.

The ex-husband, after the divorce, issued a deed of gift for the car, for his closest relative, for his cousin. On the one hand, this is a relative and the desire to please him should not come as a surprise. Not a stranger.

But the trick is that this “brother,” after receiving ownership of the car, issued a power of attorney for the right to drive the car. And the “ex-husband” continued to drive the car.

It turns out that he continues to use the car, but formally it no longer belongs to him.

To correct the situation, you will need the help of a lawyer or lawyer. The situation is complicated. We will have to unravel this tangle by recognizing the deal as illegal. It's not a simple matter. But solvable.

Voluntary agreement

If the spouses cannot agree voluntarily, then they need to go to court, and this incurs additional costs:

1. Payment for expert services
2. Government duty
3. Lawyers and stuff

The settlement agreement is concluded voluntarily and must be certified by the court.

The settlement agreement should set out the key terms of the division. This document will help you save money when paying for specialist services. The agreement also quickly comes into force.

When dividing, an important factor is the presence or absence of an agreement between husband and wife. They must determine who will become the owner after the divorce. There are also other division options:

1. Selling a car. Proceeds are divided equally
2. The vehicle is transferred to the husband or wife free of charge
3. The vehicle goes to one of the spouses, the other pays monetary compensation

The best option is to have an agreement on the division of all property, including a car. The decision made must be documented and notarized. This action insures the spouses against problems in the future. However, in a couple that is falling apart, it is sometimes very difficult to reach an agreement.

Through the courts

A claim can be filed (Article 38, SK):

1. During marriage.
2. During the termination procedure.
3. After a divorce, within three years, if the transaction is contested - within 12 months.

We suggest you read: How to divide a room during a divorce
Do not delay filing an appeal, as over time the likelihood of losing checks and documents increases significantly.

Spouses can independently agree on how they will divide property. They can record their will in a prenuptial agreement before or after the wedding.

If the decision is made during the divorce, it is advisable to document it and have it certified by a notary. This will save the parties from mutual claims and misunderstandings if subsequently one of them considers the initial conditions unfair. However, this is not mandatory - the agreement can also be oral.

This option is preferable if good relations remain between the spouses. This is due to the fact that when dividing property in court, you will need to pay a state fee. Moreover, its value depends on the amount of the claim, which when dividing the car is a significant amount.

In addition, the law allows you to record the transfer of a vehicle to a child as alimony if this option suits both spouses (Article 104 of the RF IC).

Article 104 of the RF IC - Methods and procedure for paying alimony under an agreement on the payment of alimony

1. The methods and procedure for paying alimony under an alimony agreement are determined by this agreement.
2. Alimony may be paid in shares of the earnings and (or) other income of the person obligated to pay alimony; in a fixed sum of money paid periodically; in a fixed sum of money paid at a time; by providing property, as well as in other ways regarding which an agreement has been reached.

The alimony agreement may provide for a combination of different methods of alimony payment.
One of the most important factors that directly influences further actions regarding the division of the property in question is the presence or absence of a joint agreement between the former spouses on who will become the owner of the car after the divorce. Spouses can agree to share the car as follows:

• Leave it to one of the spouses free of charge;
• Sell ​​and divide the proceeds equally;
• Leave the car with one of the spouses, obliging him to pay monetary compensation to the second spouse.

It is best if an agreement was reached between husband and wife (including ex-wife, after divorce) on the division of common property, including, of course, a car. It would be correct, after reaching an agreement on this issue, to document the conditions and notarize this document at the nearest notary office.

It is not always possible for spouses to reach an agreement on how to divide a car during a divorce. Especially if both of them have a driver’s license and used it on an equal basis, or the car is the most expensive part of their jointly acquired property.

If the spouses are able to discuss all possible options for dividing property after a divorce and come to a decision that suits both of them, then they should enter into an agreement on the division of property after a divorce (including a car).

As a result, one will be able to receive a car, the other - monetary compensation of half its value. Alternatively, one spouse will agree to leave the car to the other in exchange for some other community property or that spouse's personal property. Or he will leave it to his wife (husband) for free as a gift.

Any options are possible, as long as they suit both spouses.

Notarization of such an agreement is not required. The signatures of both spouses on the document will be enough to re-register the car with the traffic police.

Sometimes, in order to avoid a dispute over the division of a car during a divorce, spouses decide to sell the vehicle and divide the proceeds in half.

Some facts

If the car was sold without the consent of the spouse, the transaction will be invalid.

If the husband and wife can agree, then they enter into a voluntary agreement when dividing what was purchased while living together, including a car.

Among the options that you can choose from are:

• one of the spouses renounces his or her share in favor of the other free of charge;
• the car is sold and the money is divided between both parties;
• the vehicle remains with one, and the second spouse pays him monetary compensation.

The agreement must be officially registered at a notary’s office to avoid any disputes later. It is recommended to draw up a receipt indicating that you have received compensation for the part of the vehicle.

How to divide a car during a divorce if it is on credit?

There are only two options for the “credit” machine section:

1. Pay off the loan to the bank in full. And after that, already divide the car.
2. Agree with the bank on the sale of the car to a “third party”. Pay off the debt to the bank with the proceeds from the sale and divide the remaining money among each other.

You cannot divide the car until the loan is repaid. Because it is pledged to the bank. Therefore, formally, until the loan is repaid, the spouse for whom the loan was issued will use it.

What legal consequences await each spouse when dividing a car loan?

According to Article 39 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, “the shares of spouses are recognized as equal.” Those. When dividing property, the loan is divided equally.

What does this look like in practice?

The spouse for whom the loan is issued continues to pay it back to the bank. And after full payment, he collects from the “former” spouse 50% of the amount paid to the bank. And then, the spouses already share the car either pre-trial or in court.

Those. or they sell it at the market price that will be at that time and divide the proceeds among themselves. Or they “leave” it to someone alone, and the other receives monetary compensation.

To whom, to whom? Only one

If the car was bought during the marriage using the spouses’ joint funds, then both husband and wife will be entitled to half of it upon divorce.
It doesn’t matter at all to which of them the car is registered according to documents, and who used it more often. It will not be possible to just divide the car into two equal parts so that it does not lose its purpose and useful qualities. The spouses will have to decide which of them needs the car more, and which one agrees to monetary compensation of half its cost. Because of this, disputes often arise between wife and husband. After all, the car is here, it’s already there, but monetary compensation is a matter of the future. And it is far from certain that it will be paid in full immediately.

How to legally formalize the division of a car?

According to the law, there are two legal ways to divide a car:

1. Draw up an “Agreement on the division of property.”
2. Through the court - if it was not possible to reach an amicable agreement.

Let's explain each point

An agreement on the division of property is drawn up when the spouses have managed to agree which of them will get the car and who will receive monetary compensation. Or the agreement can stipulate that the car is sold and the proceeds are divided in half. Or it can be stated that the car is completely transferred to the wife, and the husband in return receives other property (for example, a summer cottage).

Division of a car through the court occurs when the spouses are unable to agree on who will get the car.

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What documents are needed to divide a car during a divorce?

To divide a car through court, you will need to prepare the following documents:

• Statement of claim for car division;
• Passports of both spouses;
• PTS – technical equipment passport;
• Vehicle registration certificate;
• Conclusion of an Independent Assessment - on the market value of the vehicle;
• The document under which the car was purchased (sale and purchase agreement or loan agreement, or gift agreement);
• Receipt for payment of state duty;
• Marriage certificate (if the division is made during the divorce process);
• Certificate of divorce, if the division is made after a divorce.

If the judge decides that additional documents are required, they will be requested during the trial.

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Expertise and assessment

A car is assessed for court during the division of property in order to determine its exact value. With the help of an expert opinion, the judge can understand how much the asset is actually worth and divide the property in accordance with the requirements of family law.

When during a trial there is a need to conduct an assessment or examination of a car, the judge makes a determination where he orders this event. In it, he indicates the institution that will conduct the examination, or a specific appraiser, and prescribes a list of questions, the answers to which must be given in the expert report.

The examination procedure consists of the following stages:

1. 
   The information specified in the documentation for the machine is studied.

2. The car is inspected for possible malfunctions or damage, and mileage readings are taken from the speedometer.
3. The appraiser checks the prices on the market that are set by sellers of similar cars in the same region of the Russian Federation where the car in question is registered.
4. The value of the asset is calculated, a conclusion is written, which indicates the answers to the questions asked by the court.
5. The conclusion is sent to the court that ordered the examination.

Required documents

The vehicle owner must provide the appraiser with the following documents:

• Contract for the purchase and sale of a car.
• Certificate of registration of the car with the traffic police.
• Vehicle passport, which contains technical information about the car.

Please be aware that providing an expert with false documents in order to deceive and reduce the value indicated in the report will result in criminal penalties if the offense is discovered.