Legal Question in Legal Ethics in Michigan
Lending money
I will make this brief, I lent money to a cousin and he guarenteed to pay it back as soon as he got back his income tax . The reason I lent him the money in the first place was because he told me that he needed to put tires on his car and the kids weren't going to have a christmas because they were in a bind. He showed me his income tax statement and he claimed he was going to get 4500.00 dollars back. well the months went by and on came the excuses, more and more of them. Then I start to notice new things showing up in his house, like furniture and a new stereo and just lots of other new stuff. I asked him if he had hit the lotto, but he claimed that it was all given to him. But anyway I want to give him a scare to get him to pay what he owes which is 1000.00, he currently has a bench warrent out for him and he really does not want to end up in court so I don't think that it would take to much to get him to pay but I cant think of a way to prepare some kind of a court document to sent to him as a summons. Could you please give me a hand in this agrivateing situation.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Lending money
Sorry, but I can't take your side here, --because I've been in this situation.
Bottom line: either take him to small claims court properly or leave him alone.
You lent him the money? Then, you had to realize you may not get it back, since you don't mention having made him sign a promissory note. Common sense should have told you that he didn't need $1000 to give his kids a decent Christmas.
It is unethical and illegal to extort money out of someone using legal process, --or, fake legal process.
Family do NOT turn family in to the government over an intra-family loan. Not even to the IRS.
IF he committed a crime (I'm not talking about not showing up to pay a parking ticket!) and you want to do a public service, fine. But, to do it over money is despicable.
Walk away and chalk it up to having done a nice thing (which you did) for his kids at Christmas.
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