How can you file charges for theft and forgery if you don't know where the person is?

Question

My husbands ex girlfriend stole his boat. Unfortunately, both their names were on the title. I have an idea of what she did with it, since she won't be using it, she must have forged his signature on the title and sold it. All we know is that she stole it from storage in NH (again, her name was on the storage contract, so I guess it's not really theft) and has since moved to FL (which is where we moved to also from NH). We don't know if it was sold in NH or FL.

So can we press charges without evidence that the boat was actually sold? Can we report it stolen even though her name is on the title as well as his? Is there a way to find out if it was sold?

Any advice would be great.

Answer 1

uh..if the boat were titled John Smith OR Sharon Jones, the sale may be perfectly legal. I 'd take a copy of the title, loan agreements, purchase contract to a good lawyer.  

Answer 2

Im sure thell have reocrd if the person tranfered the title.  I think you can get her for forgery if she signed his name.  May come into issues if he wa sthe co-signer.

Answer 3

You can't press charges at all.  She removed something that she co-owned from a place that she had a legal right to be.  That's not a crime.

It is a civil matter.  Your husband can sue her for his share of value of the boat.  But it will be up to him to find her.

Answer 4

Go to the title office in the city/state it was registered in and claim lost title.  If it has been sold, it should be apparent at that point.  If it was sold without his signature, contact an attorney who can guide you through the legal process, which could be a pretty nasty and long trip.

Good Luck!

Answer 5

You could try the office of Attorney General and explain your dilemma. They could at least direct you in the right direction. They have been helpful in the past for our family.

Answer 6

Whether she was able to sell the boat without his consent is a question of the type of ownership they possessed.  If it was truly joint ownership, she could not sell without his permission.  But you would have to look at the title to know for sure.

Assuming it was joint ownership, then you would sue her for half the value of the boat instead of charging her with a crime.  Even if she was entitled to sell the boat without his signature, it is very likely that he was entitled to half of the sale proceeds (unless they agreed otherwise beforehand--which is unlikely).

You would sue first by filing a petition in the appropriate court.  Only a lawyer looking at the complete situation could tell you whether to sue in FL or NH (and you might sue in both states).  Once you make your claim, she would be served.  After that, the ball would get rolling--and you would definitely need a lawyer to help with that.

Answer 7

She can't steal what she owns.  

Most states consider it joint ownership when more than 1 person is on the title and only 1 signature is required to change ownership.  Check with the DMV in the state it was titled in to find out if joint ownership applies.

Answer 8

You can probable do a title search to find out if it was sold.  But if her name was on the title, you can't get her for stealing something she owned.  If you can prove that she forged your husbands name...you can prosecute her for forgery.

Answer 9

If she forged his name that is illegal.

Everything else, well, not much you can probably do.  Her name is on it.  She can do whatever she wants.  Except sell it.  

How much would the boat be worth if she had?  Is it really worth it to get into or is this more a "how dare you" revenge situation?  If it's the latter, kiss it goodbye, see it as a loss and move on.  It's just not worth it otherwise.  

Answer 10

This is a civil matter, not criminal.  She has a right to take the boat.

File in small claims against her.

Answer 11

your husband would be entitled to half of the sale, otherwise i don't think you could actually press charges...both names were on the title so i doubt she needed his signature to move it from storage.