Signing off car ownership in the US from here

I'm not sure if this is the right area to post this, so if it's in the wrong area mods please move it


I have my name on a joint car loan with my ex from the states.  My ex emailed me and it sounds like after several years he might be able to finally get the car in just his name.  This would be a relief as he never pays the payment on time and it usually starts going into collections every three months.  This I assume is doing nothing but ruining my credit.     He said that I would need to sign off as one of the sellers and him as the buyer.  But he wants me to come out there to do it (which I am not).  Is there anyway to sign off the loan by doing it overseas? Does anyone have experience with this?  He said I would need the paper signed and notorized. I imagine this would fall more in the lines of me mailing something in. 

You should absolutely be able to do it long distance. I think you probably have two choices
1) find a friendly vaguely cheap lawyer and have them take care of it for you.
2) Give some (trusthworthy!) person limited power of attorney to take care of the situation in your name.

Unfortunately, depending on the state where everything is happening, the laws may be slightly different! You want to make sure that the pink slip is signed over and that you notify anyone who needs to of change of ownership (some states may require you to let the DMV know or soomething).

2) Give some (trusthworthy!) person limited power of attorney to take care of the situation in your name.

I did this with the sale of my house last year. I had to get the power of attorney statement notarised here (which cost ~£40), but then my realtor was able to sign all the documents on my behalf on closing day in NC, while I stayed in London. I would think it would be possible to do something similar for a car. My power of attorney document specifically outlined that the power was only in relation to selling the house.

I like the power of attorney idea. Hiring a lawyer, even cheap is not in the budget. My ex is not really a trustworthy person so I would need someone else to do it. Perhaps power of attorney could be with the loan people/bank etc.  If so that would be lovely.

The state that the loan is/would be redone is in California.  I'll look up what I need to do for power of attorney, but if anyone has info on that as well, that would be awesome.

I found some pre-made limited power of attorney forms online, so that helped quite a bit.  I can alter then to my needs.

Power of attorney should be relatively straightforward in California. You might not even need it notarised. (I had gave my Dad PoA at one point, and we just filled out the form...)