Ex owes money Post Reply

[Lbgjan]

Morning all.

Just hoping that someone can offer any advice with a tricky situation. Some years ago my mother invested a lot of money £65k into a property that my sister and partner bought. The intention was that my mother would also live there. It didn’t work out and she moved out after 3 years. Last year my sister and partner broke up after almost 30 years of being together. Naturally the house had to be sold and both made a verbal agreement that they would give my mother £10k each. After months of asking the ex partner has so far he’s failed to pay up. We’ve tried talking to him but it’s getting us nowhere. I’m hoping that no one has had this happen to them but if there is, what are my options other than filing under small claims court which will cost my mother. He has also threatened to withdraw all his money, plead poverty etc if we take him to court. I feel so frustrated because not only has my mother lost a considerable amount of money but she is getting on and doesn’t need the stress of a legal battle which will also cost her. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you.

[chorister]

Pragmatically - does your mother really need the money?  If not then, however frustrating, it may be best just to shrug, walk away and mark it down to experience.  And if there was no written agreement then I think you might have trouble winning in court.

[this_is_cat]

I think your mum is probably best off speaking to a property solicitor but was there not a charge placed on the house before it was sold?

are the exes threats to hide money made verbally or in writing?

As the other poster said, £10k isn’t a huge amount of money in the grand scheme, and would easily get swallowed up by legal fees so it might be worth coming to terms with the money not being repaid. But after 30 years together, it doesn’t sound like your mum was expecting it back?

[Lbgjan]

Sadly there was no second charge put on the house because ex refused and threatened to hold up the sale. All threats have been verbal however there are messages between ex and sister with him promising to pay.
The property was purchased 15 years ago.

[DavidWT]

Sorry to read about these troubles your sister is having with her ex.  This sort of issue is not uncommon.  Just to clarify something for me, when the property sold did your mother receive her original 65K investment back from the sale, and that your sister and ex agreed to give her an additional 10K each?? (presumably as interest on the 65K investment over 15 years).   Or, are you saying they only agreed to give her 10K each as a total despite her original 65K contribution when they purchased the house? If it's the latter the 65K from your mother sounds like a gift to me, rather than an investment (even though this may have been the intention).   As she didn't ringfence the 65K by registering a charge or restriction on the deeds then technically this money is owned by the registered owners of the house.  I would probably speak to a lawyer first before doing anything, and if you/your mother decided to pursue it then best to operate this via the lawyer so that formal papers are issued properly.   But for 10K it may not be worth it.  If the facts surrounding the original 65K are stronger then perhaps it may be worth fighting for half this amount. But either way all of this is v difficult without anything written down and you may end up having to put this down to experience.  Speak to a lawyer/solicitor first, a few hundred pounds spent here will be a good investment into understanding your options and chances.  Good luck!

[Lbgjan]

David. Thank you for your advice. The original £65k investment was never paid back but he did pay my mother around £11k in dribs and drabs since she moved out. However he did stop paying anything about 3 years ago.
Unfortunately my mother wouldn’t have been (and I don’t mean this badly) savvy enough to have anything legally drawn up to cover any unforeseen disputes. I will seek advice from a solicitor and see if there’s anything that we can do. Thank you.

[Lbgjan]

If the eventuality is that the £65k is considered a cash gift. by the court s, would ex partner have to pay interest on any profit from the sale. I’m pretty certain he wouldn’t have done this. Would it be worth trying to negotiate settlement instead of having a word with the taxman?

[DavidWT]

Hi Lbgjan. If it's deemed a gift by the courts then no interest would be owed - the money was given. The difficulty your sister has is to somehow demonstrate that money was not 'given', but instead provided in good faith to help her and her ex-partner to buy the property in the first place.  When they purchased the property in the first place they would have used a solicitor to handle the legal conveyancing. If your sister and ex-partner took a mortgage in order to buy the property then the acting solicitor would have had to satisfy AML compliance rules for them and for the mortgage lender too. If 65K was coming from your mother then I would have expected the solicitor to have discussed this aspect with your mother and your sister. If it was gifted then there's a good chance the mortgage lender will have wanted this in writing from your mother and signed. Perhaps as a good start your sister could try and contact the original solicitors who acted for their purchase to see what they have on file....although I appreciate it was 15 years ago!   But they might be able to help and also act for your mother to pursue the money from your sister's ex if they thought there was a good chance.  
Not sure why you are making reference to the tax man in your message above?  This is a purely a matter for a legal claim from your mother.  Good luck with it and hope your mother gets somewhere with it.      

[Lbgjan]

Thank you David. I appreciate your time In replying and your advice. I will take it all on board.