NSW Ex Paying Off Debt - Any Other Recourse?

[Nicolle Stapleton]

I lent an ex-partner a sum of $28000, thinking at the time we would be together forever, to pay off his loan! We are no longer together and he now owes me this sum of money. He's not disputing it and agrees to pay it, but has not got the money. He's paying off the debt bit by bit!

I haven't got anything written to say he owes me all this debt. What is the best option in having something written up which is legal, so he can't get out of it; and that won't cost me much money! I need security!

 

[Tim W]

Does he have a job, or some other reliable source of income?
(I don't care about his expenses)

 

[Nicolle Stapleton]

Yes, he has but he has other debts to pay as well, so he couldn't afford to get another loan. I just want to know the best way I should go about getting a legal document or something to state that he owes me the money, so he doesn't get away with it!

 

[Rob Legat - SBPL]

I'm assuming you're not charging him any interest/fees on the amount? If you've got some form of written evidence that you gave him the money, that he's agreed to pay it back, and (less importantly) some track record of payments from him which clearly link to the debt, you're pretty much covered.

To be complete, you can get an acknowledgment of debt signed. This just makes it easier if you should ever have to go to court to prove you're owed the money.

 

[Nicolle Stapleton]

How do I go about an acknowledgement of debt signed? Do I have to see a solicitor, how do I go about it!

Is it very costly?

 

[Rob Legat - SBPL]

From a solicitor's point of view, it's a simple document which can be done in as little as one page. If you don't want to formally engage someone to do it for you, you can try Googling "Acknowledgement of Debt". Your trickiest part might be getting him to sign it.