Can a spouse sign my name to vehicle title to sell vehicle?

I have never had this question directly, but generally speaking, both joint owners are required to sign transfer documents. Your wife can't sign your name unless she is your agent under a power of attorney. Do you have powers of attorney done already? If so, that may work in that she can sign as your agent pursuant to the power. If you don't have a POA, perhaps you can do one. Virginia recently enacted a law called the Uniform Power of Attorney Act which makes the process of creating one pretty easy. That may work. Good luck! Scott J. Golightly www.golightlylaw.com

Your wife needs a "Special, Limited Power of Attorney" in order to legally have your wife sign over that car title to the buyer. You can create that where you are temporarily, and then fax or email that authorization to her, so long as the notary's seal is clear and legible on the copy. She would then attach that to the title when giving it to the purchaser, and the purchaser would take BOTH the copy and the title signed by her both in her own name, and in your name, with the words, "P.O.A. for (husband's legal name)." The reason to do it this way is that, if the DMV for any reason decided to compare the signature on the title with your signature of record with them, they might raise a fuss on the transfer. This almost never happens, but it's that 'almost' that you have to deal with. A Special, Limited Power of Attorney has to include a date, your full legal name, and what power you are granting to your wife (I, Jo So-n-So, hereby grant to my wife, Betsy So-n-So, the special limited power of attorney to sign my name to the title, and any required accompanying documents of sale, to our 1999 Honda Hatchback VIN number 12438095671, to effectuate the sale of said vehicle to Bob Buyer for the purchase price of $5000.00. Signed by me this 12th day of September, 2011. signature line- then the notary's section which must include state, county or other governmental unit designation, and the standard notary public language, and the notary's clear and legible notary registration number. Most notaries have a form that they can use to supply you with that information- That should do it. Good luck.

In addition to the very good legal advice given by the prior two attorneys some practical advice is as follows: If neither of you are objecting and buyer does not object it all comes down to the DMV I guess. Assuming your wife either signs a decent version of your signature OR in fact writes something like "Wife signing for Husband, P.O.A." it should fly legally...