QUESTION
Do l legally owe someone money if it was a gift?
Asked on Aug 08th, 2014 on General Practice - Colorado
More details to this question:
My ex-boyfriend's father paid for the down payment for a car we got. The car is under my name because my ex did not have the best of credit or an ID at the time. Now that we are splitting up his father is claiming that I owe him the down payment ($4000). I never signed a contract stating that if we split up that money would be owed. And the money never touched my bank account and a check was never made out in my name. It was paid directly to the dealer. But he is still threatening to take me to small claims. So I would like to know where I stand legally. Thank you!
1 ANSWER
You do not owe the money if it was a gift (assuming that it was not a gift in contemplation of marriage). If, however, he claims that it was a loan, not a gift, the fact that there was no writing and that the money went directly to the dealer do not invalidate that claim. It may come down to who the Court believes - was it a loan or was it a gift? It would help if you had any evidence other than your testimony to support your contention that it was a gift (for example, testimony from other people who heard him say that he was giving the car to you, an email from him saying something like "I hope you're enjoying the car I gave you", or from you saying "thank you so much for the car.")
Answered on Aug 08th, 2014 at 12:56 PM