Advice on loan repayment - Legal Aid Centre

Questioner

Hello, I would like to get more advice on what I can do about it. It is something that goes back 8 years now. My ex-in-laws took out a loan at the time to get me and my ex out of debt, and we owe them a lot. grateful and have also offered to pay it back several times. My mother-in-law didn't need this and she was just happy that it could be resolved this way. I have been divorced for 8 years now and during that period I have told her several times that I wanted to pay back, but she did not accept this. I got the answer no, that is not necessary and as long as my son does not pay, you do not have to either. Now 6 weeks before my wedding I receive a new letter from her saying that she now wants money from me and my ex at once and she again involves my children in this. I didn't sign anything at the time or anything that I would have to pay her back. She gave me until the end of this month to respond and possibly pay. Otherwise she will go to a lawyer and file it there. What are my rights here and what advice can you give me?

Lawyer

You write that the loan was granted to you and your then husband 8 years ago. A verbal loan is also a valid agreement, for which no signature of a written document is required. You can therefore be held to repayment with your ex-husband. Your ex-mother-in-law can choose who she will sue: you, your ex-husband or both. If she sues you only for the full amount, you can demand that your ex-husband contribute half of this (at least his share), in other words, indemnify you against this. Since your ex-mother-in-law has not made a claim for more than 5 years, it seems very likely that her claim has expired.

Questioner

I was not married to my then partner and she never said anything verbally about a loan, only that she wanted to pay it, not to help us in this way.

Lawyer

My answer is the same in the situation that you were not married but living together. Relevant in your story is that the amount that you received from your ex-mother-in-law was intended for both of you (to get you both out of your debts). If your ex-mother-in-law did not mention at the time that it was a loan to you, you can dispute on that basis that it was a loan (that must be repaid).