Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Virginia

Legal liability of guardians.

We have custody--name removed--a child who wants to start driving now that he is 16. If (God forbid) he causes an accident can the other party sue us and take away our house. We would carry full coverage insurance.

This website has a problem. I keep getting an error message saying I cannot use a name in the message body. I didn't.


Asked on 1/17/07, 1:07 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: Legal liability of guardians.

A parent or guardian cannot be held responsible or civilly liable for the negligent(accidental)torts or civil wrongs of a child under his or her care and custody. The minor's coverage under your insurance would have to satisfy any claimant for any damage which he might cause in an accident unless the child is independently wealthly in his own right and would have assets that could be used to satisfy a judgment against him which happened to exceed the limits for him under your particular policy.

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Answered on 1/17/07, 4:46 pm


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