Recovering Loaned Money

[stoofur]

My dad very kindly lent my sister and her boyfriend �10,000 about a year and a half ago. My sister is at home looking after her children and her boyfriend is working. They agreed to pay my dad back monthly. Very shortly after receiving the money My sister's boyfriend broke his arm and was unable to work for about seven months so my Dad let the payments slide. About four months ago he started insisting that they pay something as they have not paid a single penny!! So my sister's boyfriend decided to leave my sister. And even worse than that it now appeares that he has been having an affair for at least a year. Do you think my dad has any legal chance of getting the money back from him? My dad trusted them and did not raise any contract but he did give the cheque to him in his name.

[Ethel]

Not a chance. He'd have to prove it was intended as a loan and not a gift.

As the boyfriend has made no payments at all this is going to be next to impossible to do.

The boyfriend will just say it was a gift but you dad changed his mind because they have since split up.

[Whoever]

The reality is that if there is no written contract between your father and this boyfriend, there is nothing to prove that the money was not a gift. Sadly I don't think there's any chance at all of your father seeing a penny of it back unless you sister honours the debt herself.

[stoofur]

Thank you both for your answers. I feared that this would be the case.

[hotspur1957]

there is such a thing as a verbal contract in law. it takes some prvoing but you should definrough it through a solictor. They will look into things like how the money was disposed of from his account - what it was used for etc etc/

[stoofur]

Thanks for that Hotspur. My dad is a really nice guy and has not done anything yet as my sister still misses him. But I think he will go and see a solicitor soon. I'll keep you posted if anything happens.