QLD Debt Help - Recovering Personal Loan?

[Marseille]

My husband and I separated last year. Some years ago I wrote two cheques from my personal account for his business totaling $27,000 with the condition he paid it back in November of 2013. No formal documents were drawn up at the time for the personal loan. He stalled and finally agreed to start paying it back in $500 increments and I received two payments in June and July of 2014. He then stated he couldn't afford to pay it anymore and wouldn't be making any more payments in the foreseeable future.
We put our house on the market recently and he said that he would pay back the money he owed me at settlement. The sale of the house is to due to settle next month and when I reminded him about the debt, he told me to forget it in not very friendly terms. I have a series of emails where we have discussed the $500 payments and the repayment on property settlement. Is that enough to get my money back?

 

[Ivy]

I suggest that you contact a family lawyer to help negotiate the settlement.

 

[Sarah J]

Hi Marseille,

Depending on what is recorded in the emails, there may be enough evidence to document that the loan was not given as a gift but a loan with conditions attached.

I suggest you negotiate a property settlement with your husband. Given you are separated from him, you should divide your property as soon as possible to avoid confusion and mess int he future. As part of the property negotiations, all assets shares or personal should go into a "shared pool". How the shared pool is then divided depends on how much each party contributed to the pool (hence, your loan will count against your husband's contributions), relative earning capacity of the parties and other financial/emotional commitments (e.g. child maintenance). There is a wealth of information on property division on lawanswers (see: "Property Settlement - Any Tips?") and the Family Law Courts website (see: "Property and Money after Separation").

It is best to come to a property settlement agreement with your ex husband directly. However, if this does not work, you can apply to court for a settlement order. In either scenario, your loan will be taken into account.