Legal Question in Business Law in Illinois

Guarantee for a Business Loan

I signed as a guarantee for a business loan for a friend of mine. The business is in his Uncle's name. His Uncle took money from the account and some of the loan is unaccountable. My friend used most of the money to buy and remodel a residential property. He has not paid on the loan since December 2008. Now the bank is coming after me. Do I have the legal right to take this property and sale it to pay off the loan. What are my options


Asked on 3/29/09, 11:40 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Adam S. Tracy Securities Compliance Group Ltd

Re: Guarantee for a Business Loan

Thank you for your question. If you are a guarantor on the loan, thank bank can, in fact, come after you. You do not have a legal right to go after the property - unless, of course, you have some sort of security agreement with your friend that gives you an interest in the property. You could potentially bring a lawsuit against your friend for something called "contribution". Again, this all sort of hinges on what sort of agreement you had with him.

As for a strategy for dealing with the bank, you could try to work something out with them to hold them at bay while leveraging your friend to perhaps start making payments or even turn over the property. Alternately, you could simply file for bankruptcy.

Let me know if you have any questions. I can be reached via email: [email protected]

Thanks -

Adam Tracy

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Answered on 3/29/09, 12:51 pm

Re: Guarantee for a Business Loan

Unfortunately, there is little that you can do absent somekind of agreement or security arangement with your friend. As a pure guarantor, you have obtligations and very few rights. You should contact an attorney to review the guaranty that you signed. Perhaps there is a loophole that will aid you. Good luck.

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Answered on 3/29/09, 12:54 pm


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