Legal Question in Family Law in California

Can I sue my ex wife for money I loaned her while we were married.

At the time I was a student and took out a stud. loan and let her barrow money, there was a verbal agreement she even hand wrote a letter stating that she would pay me back with interest We both signed the paper the problem is she held onto that document we have been officially divorced since Feb of last year and given that we had agreed to it and the divorce ended amicably, we did not bring that up during the divorce as we didn't want to complicate things she agreed to pay last time we talked. recently, I started paying back my stud. loan some of which I let her barrow for her own education she turned around and is claiming that she will not pay because she feels that since she spent money on me, as I did to, it balances out My concern is given that i don't have that document and Given that the loan was not brought up during the divorce can i still take her to court, and what are my chance of proving this. I have contacted her sent and her an e-mailed with an excel sheet showing her in detail the interest rate, interest accumulated/capitalized and what i have payed thus far for her part of the loan.


Asked on 4/29/15, 9:30 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Kelvin Green The Law Office of Kelvin Green

This may seem a little sarcastic but it seems the divorce was not amicable. You didn't not include the loan because you did not want to complicate things? What is it now? ... Of course you can sue, the question is whether or not you will win...suing over student loans become problematic because it should have been included in the divorce...you have separate property vs community property issues, what was paid for, who benefitted, when it was incurred,... You did not just lend her money it may have been community property and community debt...or it could be separate property and a gift, or a loan...it becomes messier because you probably have deducted student loan interest off your taxes... You will need an attorney and that will cost money. I don't know how much the amount is but you'd also need to weigh those costs... It may be just cheaper to drop it and pay the loan

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Answered on 4/30/15, 6:33 am
Arlene Kock Law Offices of Arlene D. Kock APLC

What you've described is an omitted debt that should have been included in the division of property in your divorce process. Please meet with an experienced family law attorney on returning to court on a request for order to address this financial liability.

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Answered on 5/01/15, 5:21 am


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