TheHumanSpirit
June 14th, 2012, 11:25 PM
Three years ago I had my mutual fund cashed out for $3,000, took out $2,000 from the money I earned from working, and loaned that $5,000 to my mother and her boyfriend to help with a down payment on our new house because her boyfriend's assets were mostly frozen due to his recent legal separation. The agreement was that it be paid back in full, with interest (at their discretion), by my 18th birthday, which is next week.
They've changed their minds about paying me back. They say it's because they feel I am irresponsible with money (even though I earned most of the money I loaned to them) because I spent $1,000 from graduation in a week (on a $400 tablet for college and a $600 DSLR that was $300 off because I wanted to capture memories, especially because I would be the founding vice president of an up-and-coming club at the university). They said they would be keeping that money until they felt I was responsible enough to use it.
I told them it wasn't their call. I would be 18 and while I appreciate their concern, they agreed to return the money and that's exactly what they need to do. They are telling me the only way I'll be getting it is with a lawsuit.
Personally, I don't think my mother has any right to hold the money because she just filed bankruptcy three years ago, before upgrading to a bigger house since her mom was moving in and she just met her boyfriend. She almost didn't even HAVE the $5,000 for me until she checked another bank account and just happened to FIND the rest of the money she needed. I think she's projecting her insecurity of handling money onto me. She also wants to be able to manage me even after I turn 18 because she's probably scared of losing me as a little kid. When I brought that up to her attention, she said I was wrong.
Unfortunately, all I have is the paper trail of money going from my account into her's during the time her boyfriend (alone) acquired the loan for the house. (He later put her on title.) He always delayed signing the promissory note I drew up and I felt like it wasn't worth arguing about anymore since I felt like he believed more in his word and it really isn't about the money; I will live without that money, I did that so we would have a nice home and I trusted them to return the money as promised. He had the nerve to ask about my "recourse" during our conversation, and I started by talking about the paper trail of money flowing from my account, and then when he said that wasn't what he was referring to and I led in on the promissory note, I found out that was indeed what he was referring to! He said he didn't sign it because he "didn't like how it was worded," but he never bothered to convey that to me. Btw, I created it using a program that draws up legal papers, so I was using a standard promissory note template.
Furthermore, they told me to drop the conversation and go to my room. When I just stood there, my mom said "don't make me go to the point of no return," and her boyfriend basically threatened to get physical as well, coming right up behind me and saying, "you better go before I lose it!"
What should I do? What, if any, legal recourse do I have? After they called my dad and got his voicemail, my mother said she'd drive me down to his house and I started packing clothes in her car. Then she said she was going to bed and was going to take me with JUST a suitcase tomorrow morning on her way to work. I said I wasn't leaving without my stuff. She said to work out a moving plan with my dad, and to give her the keys (which I didn't because I'm not about to give up the keys to a house that I have stuff in when they wouldn't agree to return what they owe me).
The irony is, my dad was supposed to come on Saturday to move stuff. -__- What should I do? What, if any, legal recourse do I actually have that would hold up in a sub-$5,000 small claims court that relies on the judge's basis of what actually happened and is not held to the higher standard of other courts, being reasonable doubt?
They've changed their minds about paying me back. They say it's because they feel I am irresponsible with money (even though I earned most of the money I loaned to them) because I spent $1,000 from graduation in a week (on a $400 tablet for college and a $600 DSLR that was $300 off because I wanted to capture memories, especially because I would be the founding vice president of an up-and-coming club at the university). They said they would be keeping that money until they felt I was responsible enough to use it.
I told them it wasn't their call. I would be 18 and while I appreciate their concern, they agreed to return the money and that's exactly what they need to do. They are telling me the only way I'll be getting it is with a lawsuit.
Personally, I don't think my mother has any right to hold the money because she just filed bankruptcy three years ago, before upgrading to a bigger house since her mom was moving in and she just met her boyfriend. She almost didn't even HAVE the $5,000 for me until she checked another bank account and just happened to FIND the rest of the money she needed. I think she's projecting her insecurity of handling money onto me. She also wants to be able to manage me even after I turn 18 because she's probably scared of losing me as a little kid. When I brought that up to her attention, she said I was wrong.
Unfortunately, all I have is the paper trail of money going from my account into her's during the time her boyfriend (alone) acquired the loan for the house. (He later put her on title.) He always delayed signing the promissory note I drew up and I felt like it wasn't worth arguing about anymore since I felt like he believed more in his word and it really isn't about the money; I will live without that money, I did that so we would have a nice home and I trusted them to return the money as promised. He had the nerve to ask about my "recourse" during our conversation, and I started by talking about the paper trail of money flowing from my account, and then when he said that wasn't what he was referring to and I led in on the promissory note, I found out that was indeed what he was referring to! He said he didn't sign it because he "didn't like how it was worded," but he never bothered to convey that to me. Btw, I created it using a program that draws up legal papers, so I was using a standard promissory note template.
Furthermore, they told me to drop the conversation and go to my room. When I just stood there, my mom said "don't make me go to the point of no return," and her boyfriend basically threatened to get physical as well, coming right up behind me and saying, "you better go before I lose it!"
What should I do? What, if any, legal recourse do I have? After they called my dad and got his voicemail, my mother said she'd drive me down to his house and I started packing clothes in her car. Then she said she was going to bed and was going to take me with JUST a suitcase tomorrow morning on her way to work. I said I wasn't leaving without my stuff. She said to work out a moving plan with my dad, and to give her the keys (which I didn't because I'm not about to give up the keys to a house that I have stuff in when they wouldn't agree to return what they owe me).
The irony is, my dad was supposed to come on Saturday to move stuff. -__- What should I do? What, if any, legal recourse do I actually have that would hold up in a sub-$5,000 small claims court that relies on the judge's basis of what actually happened and is not held to the higher standard of other courts, being reasonable doubt?