hurloch

November 10, 2007

Posted by hurloch

can a gift to buy a house be forced to be repaid?

My girlfriend was gifted a large sum on money 3 years ago to purchase a house by her brother. Due to recent family stress the brother is attempting to force her to repay the gift at this time. However he signed a statement at the closing indicating it was a loan and there was no intent to repay the gift. It was also understood by both parties at the time that she would not be able to pay him back.

Tagged:

  1. gift

Comments

  1. TonyLiu: A loan can't be a gift. A loan is borrowed money, which is repaid. Was it understood that she would be unable to pay back the money legally in a contract? What does the contract actually say?
  2. hurloch: The letter the brother signed states that it was a gift with no intent to be paid back. Furthermore it was verbally understood that she would not be able to pay him back in the future as well. The letter was required by the mortagage company to show where the money for the down payment came from and to show that it was not a loan which would have been held against my GF as a debt and affected her debt to income ratio.

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DanielleR

November 11, 2007

Posted by DanielleR

0 stars ( 0 ratings )

I think the main question here is: Is the document that the brother signed a legally binding contract. While the law varies from state to state, all legally binding contracts must identify who is involved in the agreement (the individuals must be adults), state the both parties mutual consent, state the item/service being agreed upon, and consideration (meaning each party gain something). Your best bet might be having an attorney review the document to determine if it is, in fact, a legally binding agreement. Good luck!

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Chavez43

November 12, 2007

Posted by Chavez43

0 stars ( 0 ratings )

From what you are saying, you are under no legal obligation to pay the brother any sum of money. Since the issue involves family, you need to sit down with your brother explain your side and listen and acknowledge his concerns. Feel free to report back after you hear your brother's side of the story.

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