How to Refinance a Car Under the Name of a Spouse

Several situations could lead you to refinance a car under your spouse's name instead of yours. One common situation is in a divorce when the spouse who is going to keep the car is not the one who has full legal responsibility for repaying the loan. Another reason for refinancing is if one spouse has better credit than the other and can get a lower interest rate on the car loan. Regardless of the reason, refinancing a car loan under a spouse's name requires a few major actions.

Instructions

1

Call the current lender and ask for the loan payoff amount. This might appear on your most recent statement, but you should call to confirm because some lenders will add a prepayment penalty.

2

Choose the lender who your the spouse will use for the refinance. You can either use the same lender or choose a different one that offers better interest rates.

3

Apply for an auto loan refinance with the desired lender. Only the spouse whose name will appear on the loan should fill out the application. Include the information on the loan payoff amount on the application as the amount that you need to borrow, unless you plan to make a cash down payment so you can borrow less.

4

Complete the refinance; have the new lender send payment on the loan to the old lender.

5

Sign over the car title to the spouse whose name is on the refinanced loan. If the car is already in both of your names and you are not getting divorced, you should not need to change the title. However, if the car was titled only in your name and your spouse is refinancing the car, you will need to sign over the title.

6

Take the title to your state's department of motor vehicles to complete the transfer of ownership. You will need to pay a titling fee to obtain a new title with the correct name on it.