Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Missouri

Putting a lien on debtor's house

My husband and I have taken out loans on our home equity line of credit to help our daughter and her husband. They knew they were borrowing the money and have been making steady payments on the debt. However, we didn't have them sign a document to borrow from us.

Now the husband has left our daughter and the four young children for another woman and claims he isn't going to pay us back. He wants her to sell the house quickly, their best asset. In order to get our money back out of the house we helped finance when it is sold, we would like to place a lien on the house. Our daughter agrees. In addition, we are having to loan her $5,000 per month to support her normal bills while she is going to mediation and trying to move on towards the divorce. They owe us around $150,000 and we are retired. We need to be sure we get this money back. Husband is giving her only $1,000 per month for the 4 children. She is not employed right now--has been staying home to take care of the children.

I have read that we can place this lien ourselves, but we would like to know how costly it would be to hire a lawyer to do it for us.

Can you describe the process and estimate how much it would cost and how long it would take ?


Asked on 8/20/07, 2:04 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael R. Nack Michael R. Nack, Attorney at Law

Re: Putting a lien on debtor's house

Although your actions are understandable, it was a mistake not to have the borrowers sign a promissory note and perhaps some other documents such as a second deed of trust. In Missouri we have a statute referred to as the Statute of Frauds which may very well make the loan unenforceable as a contract. However, there are other legal theories under which you could file a lawsuit and obtain a Judgment for the money owed to you if you have not waited too long. Once you have that Judgment it would automatically be a lien against the real estate. You could also garnish the husband's wages or execute upon his assets if need be. I can not discuss the subject of attorney's fees on this site, but you may certainly feel free to call me for a free telephone consultation. I have been practiving law for thirty years and handle a wide variety of legal matters including collections and divorce. No matter what you decide to do, I wish you the very best of luck getting all of your money back.

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Answered on 8/21/07, 10:53 pm


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