QUESTION
Do I have to pay back a loan between individuals when there is no contract
Asked on Mar 16th, 2016 on Civil Litigation - New York
More details to this question:
When my girlfriend were together in Niagara Falls N.Y. we both spent thousands of dollors on each other. I got a insurance settlement for $11,486 we both spent it together. I paid her between $400 or $500 a month towards the house. I then spent at least $350 each month which fed us and her two children. I was also paying her $508 car payment for at least 14 months. She deposited around $10,000 in my checking account to do some work on my rentals. I have given her $3,500 to help get her on her feet since I left due to her drug addicted kids moving in with us. Not to mention I sold off all my belongings in a auction in Missouri to move with her to NY. There is no contract for these transactions. Am I liable?
1 ANSWER
By definition, a loan is a contract, i.e. an agreement that the money will be repaid. If there were no such agreement, it wouldn't be a loan, it would be a gift. Thus, whether you have to pay the money back depends on the agreement or understanding between the two of you. Were these transactions intended to be gifts? Were they investments in, for example, your rentals? I understand that you may not have thought about this when the transactions occurred, but if this dispute winds up in court, that is what the court will be tryng to figure out.
Answered on Mar 17th, 2016 at 7:45 AM