Here’s the problem.  The “friend” promptly turned around and sold the car to a third party. The friend never filed a new registration form with the Illinois Secretary of State. The third party trashed the car and dumped it in a southwest suburb where it was towed.  My client moved out of state and never received any notices from the village or the tow company regarding the car.  My client applied for and received a new driver’s license in his new state.

Two years later (Fall of 2005) he received a collection company notice that the donated car was towed and the tow company now wanted over $1,500 in damages.  The collection company claims that my client is responsible for the damages as he “abandoned” the car.  I pointed out the facts above and argued that he properly transferred the car and the buyer abandoned the car.

Stay tuned because I believe we are not done with this issue.  Under a separate provision of the Illinois Motor Vehicle code a car owner is liable for damages caused by an abandoned vehicle.  The vehicle is considered abandoned when the owner fails to timely respond to the towing company’s demand for payment.  Since over a year passed between the time the car was towed and the collection company’s involvement, the collection company’s position is that the owner (my client) is liable.

Faced with having his credit trashed, the client has no choice but to fight this matter.

Solution:

When you sell a vehicle, it seems the thing to do is: a) remove the license plates; and b)sign the back of the title certificate; and c) have the buyer sign and complete the registration certificate in your presence along with collecting the cost to register the car.  This is a step I would not have ever contemplated.  Even if you have to pay the registration fee yourself, it is way worth the cost to do so.  The State of Illinois has a website and you can download the form from the website.  You the seller can send the form into the Illinois Secretary of State.  Once that step is taken, you are off the hook from any responsibility.  There may even be a way to check with the Illinois Secretary of State to confirm that they changed their records.

You cannot trust a party to fill out the form later.  The potential for liability is huge.

Family Supply Kit

I wrote a brief article just after 9/11 regarding what important steps to take to be ready in an emergency.  As we now add Katrina to the tragedies, the article is still relevant almost 5 years later.

There are several steps to take.  The first is to have a family plan including plotting several routes to travel in case of emergency.  The second is to have an agreed meet place in the event family members get separated.  The third is to have an emergency kit containing several days worth of food and water along with other essential items.  FEMA has a list at their website it is found at http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/assemble_disaster_supplies_kit.shtm.

Next, it is important to make an inventory of your personal property.  The University of Illinois Extension has a 61 page report which will meet many, many needs both emergencies and just dealing with insurance companies.  The link is http://www.ag.uiuc.edu/~vista/abstracts/ahouseinv.html.  

Also, family members should know how to shut off and turn the various utilities coming into the property.  Knowing where the emergency shut off valves are is critical.  Your vehicle absolutely should have a simple emergency kit.

This may be a grim topic but I am sure many of us (add me to this) have an old outdated first aid kit along with insufficient supplies.

Besides the inventory list, the property report discusses having more than one location to store your important records (or copies).  This includes copies of all medial prescriptions.  They suggest updating this list and supplies twice a year.  Hope this helps.