My brother wrecked a car titled in my name — now I'm the one being chased for damages
I don't even know where to start with this. A few years back my younger brother needed a vehicle but couldn't get financing on his own, so I co-signed and the title ended up mostly in my name. He promised he'd handle insurance, registration, everything. I trusted him because, well, family.
Fast forward to a couple months ago. He calls me out of nowhere saying he clipped two other vehicles on the highway during a merge. Nobody was seriously hurt, thankfully, but one of the other drivers had significant damage. Here's the kicker — my brother had let the insurance lapse three months earlier without telling me a single word about it.
Now I'm getting letters from an attorney representing the other driver, and the number they're throwing around is genuinely terrifying. The car is in my name. I'm the one they're coming after.
What makes this even messier: I haven't lived at the address on my license in ages — I moved and just never updated it. So apparently some earlier correspondence went to the old place and I missed it entirely. I only found out things had escalated when a friend happened to mention something.
I do own a small share of a property with my mom (like a family thing, not investment). I'm scared that's going to somehow be used against me.
Has anyone been through something like this where you're legally on the hook for someone else's screw-up? How did you handle it? Did you get your own attorney separate from anything your family member was doing? I feel completely blindsided and I can't stop checking my phone waiting for more bad news.