Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Florida
I am reposting my question since some people seem to be missing the point: I made a loan of $90,000 to my brother to get him & his wife out from under a boat loan - they gave me the $25,000 check they received for the boat and, now 3 or so years later when I asked him to repay the loan, he is giving me $100.00/mo which I've told him in unacceptable - THIS IS NOT A SMALL CLAIMS COURT matter - what are my legal options??
2 Answers from Attorneys
You can sue him. That's your legal option. If you didn't have a written agreement as to how the loan would be repaid, you are going to have a problem. The Court's job is not to write or fashion an agreement, but to enforce an existing, enforceable agreement. You might have an argument that it's unfair and unreasonable for him to pay you $100/month, but you can't depend on that being a winning argument. You could try to resolve the matter thru private mediation before you file suit (if you choose to do that).
I agree with the above; however, unless it was mentioned in the first post, what was the form of the agreement: writing or oral?
You may want to secure your debt by seeing if your brother and wife will agree to a lien on the boat.
There are many avenues here. Best to see a lawyer in your area.