Am I obligated to repay money that my boyfriend of 6 years said that he loaned to me?
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Am I obligated to repay money that my boyfriend of 6 years said that he loaned to me?
We did not share households but he did help me pay my bills. He did not ask for repayment or say this was a loan during our 6 years together. He did ask me to write a notarized letter prior to my surgery stating that should I die that my estate pay him the money. I did do this and it reads ” I, ————- upon my death, accidental or natural will have my estate pay to ———— the sum of $27,185. Notarized, signed and dated XXX.” I recovered the surgery just fine and this letter was not brought up again, nor has he talked about repayment until we broke up 2 years ago.
Asked on April 16, 2012 under Bankruptcy Law, Minnesota
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
IF the money had been a loan at the time it was made, he might still have time to take legal action to recover it: the statute of limitations (or time to sue) in MN is 6 years for both contracts and promissory notes, so depending on the extact time frame, he might be able to take action.
That is assuming it was a loan, however. If the money was a gift at the time it was provided--that is, it was made without expectation of repayment--he cannot after the fact convert it to a loan; once money is gifted, the giver has no right to its return. Of course, if he "remembers" things differently, he can (assuming he is still withing the statute of limitations) try to sue you and prove it was a loan; he would need to be able to prove by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not) that it was a loan, not a gift, and you could provide your own evidence or testimony to show it was not a loan. Without some actual promissory note or written contract or agreement to repay, the advantage would lie with you, since as the one suing, he'd have to affirmatively prove his case.
The letter you describe, by the way, does not seem to prove that it was a loan--the language your quote says nothing about the money being loaned--and would likely not have been enforceable had you passed away, since it does not appear to meet the requirements to be a valid will.
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