How do we recover money my deceased grandmother loaned out?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
How do we recover money my deceased grandmother loaned out?
My grandmother loaned a neighbor thousands of dollars. How do we recover the amount to help with her last expenses? When they were asked to pay they just ignored it. We have the copies of the checks from the bank that has loan on them.
Asked on August 23, 2010 under Bankruptcy Law, Oklahoma
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
Was there a written agreement as to the loan, the interest rate and the payback terms? Anything that would be considered a valid note to sue on? Take what ever you have to an attorney to review and give you some guidance. You are going to have to sue them, plain and simple. Where will depend on the facts. If the loan is considered one lump sum then it may be too big for small claims court. But if you want to treat each check as a separate loan and not one transaction then you may be able to sue for smaller amounts separately. But you need help from someone who can look at what you have and the evidence that you are going to present in court. Even on a consultation basis it would be best. Good luck.
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
IF there was an agreement to repay the money, that agreement can be enforced by your grandmother's estate. However, showing that she paid checks to the neighbor itself may not be enough to prove either the existence of the loan or its terms. For example, checks could be a gift, could be payment for goods or services, etc.; even if the checks say, for example, "loan," what exactly does that mean? Is it a loan due in 1 year, 5 years, 10 years? Is it due in all circumstances, or only under certain ones? Or do the checks say "loan" because your grandmother was repaying a loan made to her?
Also, certain loans or agreements may have to be *fully* in writing to be enforceable.
For "thousands of dollars," it is worth consulting with an attorney who can evaluate the situation for you and determine what rights you may have, and how best to proceed. You should prepare yourself, however, that you may not be a good position, without more than you wrote about, to recover the loan.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.