Ex relatives trying to sue me for a gift

Mojisola

Unfairclaim said:

As another note, do you know which part in particular i need to prove? Their claim categotically states they lent money to buy the house, I have the completion statement that shows no loan, covered in full from equity and mortgage

Isn't it up to them to prove that it was a loan, half to you and half to your ex?

If they can't provide any evidence, it should stop there.

PixelPound

As others have said you just need to file a Defence, it should be simple and just address each point claimed.
There was no loan, and if they have evidence to back up their claim, they should produce it.
An amount was gifted to your ex, surely any dispute over that should be against your ex, so they would be going after the wrong party.
You can show that none of the funds went on the house purchase via bank statements I assume, so that addresses claims on that.

Do also keep track of costs, as although limited what can be awarded, the Judge may well award them.
Once you see any statement to court they put you may be able to request that the case be dismissed if their claim has no merit so as not to waste the Court's time.

macman

Mojisola said:

Unfairclaim said:

As another note, do you know which part in particular i need to prove? Their claim categotically states they lent money to buy the house, I have the completion statement that shows no loan, covered in full from equity and mortgage

Isn't it up to them to prove that it was a loan, half to you and half to your ex?

If they can't provide any evidence, it should stop there.

Precisely. They'd need to prove, on the balance of probabilities, that the money was loaned, not gifted, and firstly that it was loaned to you jointly, and not just to your ex. Given what the OP has  told us, their case fails on the second point, so the first is then immaterial. If they pursue a case against their ex, they'd 'merely' have to prove the first point.

ciderboy2009

nic_c said:

As others have said you just need to file a Defence,

As the OP has been invited for mediation then a defence will have already been filed.

They just need to wait now for a directions order/ hearing notice from the court.  Now would be a good time to start working on a witness statement  - however, as no evidence to prove the claim has been provided then there won't be much to include othe than what has already been stated here (OP - make sure that you include the point that they previously tried to recover it as part of the divorce proceedings when you do write it).

TBagpuss

They will need to prove it was a loan.

Read through their claim carefully and see what evidence they are saying that their is, and respond to the specific pointed.
e.g. if they claim it was for a house, have they provided evidence by way of bank statements showing that the timings add up? 
Are they claiming that any payments were made to repay the debt at any time by you or by you and your ex jointly? (regular repayments can be evidence that money was a loan not a gift, as it indicated that it was being repaid)

However, the key point to make is that you have never received any money as a loan from them, and have never had any agreement or understanding to repay anything, and that they did not contribute to the purchase of your house.

Yu can add that they were your in-laws and that they did at least once give your husband money, but that to the best of your knowledge and understanding the money was a gift, not a loan, and in any event if it were a loan then it was a loan to your husband alone, as you were not party to or aware of any loan, and (assuming it to be the case, and if your financial order has been make in the divorce) that your husband failed to provide any evidence that the money was a loan, and that it was accepted to have been a gift in the context of the divorce settlement. this last is not binding on another court but is potentially relevant, and makes any supporting statement from you ex that it was a loan likely to carry less weight.

Shakin_Steve

ciderboy2009 said:

nic_c said:

As others have said you just need to file a Defence,

As the OP has been invited for mediation then a defence will have already been filed.

They just need to wait now for a directions order/ hearing notice from the court.  Now would be a good time to start working on a witness statement  - however, as no evidence to prove the claim has been provided then there won't be much to include othe than what has already been stated here (OP - make sure that you include the point that they previously tried to recover it as part of the divorce proceedings when you do write it).

This case is no longer subject to mediation.

sleepyjones

If they handed a cheque to your ex then surely the cheque would be in his/her name and they (the ex) would have paid it into their bank account ... what's it got to do with you, was it a shared account?
Im just thinking out loud but if they handed it to your ex then it should be your ex who's dealing with this, not you, I would think (but I am probably being naive to the whole legal process)

bris

If they said it was to buy a house the the solicitor dealing with the clients (OP) at the time are legally obliged to make money laundering checks on the "gift".

The op can easily prove there was no funds received by the solicitor by simply getting a letter from them to confirm this.
The person hearing the case will not take to kindly to this lie and will not trust the rest of the in laws claim.

It's pretty hard to prove a loan without paperwork to back it up and a bitter ex wife doesn't make a good witness.

Brie

The OP says that a cheque was given to the ex.  Does anyone know who that cheque was made out to??  I mean if my folks gave me and the OH a cheque they might make it out to Mr & Ms Name.  That would make it look like it was a gift/loan to both and not just the person that stashed it in the bank account.  If they can produce a copy of that cheque (possible depending on how long ago it was) then that is one little bit of proof.  the lack of a loan agreement or any such thing doesn't help their case though.

Also people are often vague about what they say and intend.  "I'm giving you this to help with your deposit" might actually be interpreted as "here's some cash for the furniture so your OH can max the deposit from elsewhere."  

I'll be interested to hear how this works out though I am firmly on the side of the OP for the moment!!

macman

OP could easily clarify if the cheque was made out to him/his ex/joint account, but hasn't done so. Unless we know that, it's all complete speculation.
As was pointed out weeks ago, unless it was made out to him or to a joint account, any claim against him is utterly spurious, because he never received the money from the lender. He received it from his ex.