Protect yourself from your kid’s automobile lawsuit

1 Sept 2023 · 0 min

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In this brief advisory, a seasoned trial lawyer warns parents that if a child’s vehicle is titled in the parent’s name, a large judgment from an automobile lawsuit could target the parent’s assets beyond the liability insurance payout. To shield themselves, the lawyer recommends that once the child reaches the age of majority, the vehicle should be titled solely in the child’s name and only a minimum liability insurance policy should be maintained. He explains that without substantial assets or an attractive insurance policy to pursue, plaintiffs are far less likely to file a lawsuit, thereby protecting the parent’s financial exposure.

Do you have your kid's vehicle in your name? If you do and there's a lawsuit filed and there's a $10 million judgment, guess who they're going to come after for the overage? And by overage, I mean what's left after the liability insurance pays their part. Here's how you protect yourself. If your kid is above the age of majority, put the vehicle in their name alone. Get a minimum amount of liability insurance. If there's a big judgment, they don't have any assets anyway. And I can tell you after having been a trial lawyer for decades, if there's not a nice insurance policy to go after, there's much less chance that a lawsuit will ever be filed.