If a loan is not reduced to writing, what is the borrower’s obligation?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If a loan is not reduced to writing, what is the borrower’s obligation?
My mother-in-law had taken a mortgage out against her home to help us out with a down payment on our home. We signed nothing but were making the payments. Since then, we lost our home, and she has passed away, and my sister-in-law is living in the home. There was not a Will leaving the house to anyone, no one else was on the deed, her house is now going into foreclosure. Can my brother-in-law sue us for the amount of the mortgage? We want to pay it, we just are not able to right now.
Asked on August 20, 2012 under Bankruptcy Law, Wisconsin
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
So long as your mother-in-law is alive and has not made any claim for reimbursement as to the apparent loan she made you with respect to your home then it would appear that what she gave you may have been a gift from what you have written. If the loan became a gift, then you have no obligation to repay it. Your brother-in-law has no basis to sue you for the money since he did not make the loan to you.
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.