Need some advice- evil step mum threatening to take us to court

**Sapphire** · 2nd March 2013, 18:35:PM

Re: Need some advice- evil step mum threatening to take us to court

What ever you do DON'T IGNORE the letter, get yourself onto your local solicitors websites and find one with a free consultation and get yourself in there and get advice, there's nothing worse than when families fall out over money so the quicker you get this sorted the better.

By the way I'm a step mum, not wicked at all but by christ I do get angry at my step kids sometimes, but I do love them really.

**Ruby** · 2nd March 2013, 18:43:PM

Re: Need some advice- evil step mum threatening to take us to court

Tricky one! I am no expert, but is there 'proof' that he lent/gave you the money for the car? Eg. did you sign a note/letter saying you have been given/lent the money.

I am thinking on the lines of his/her word against yours - will it stand up in court?

Hopefully someone with more legal experience will come along and help soon.

**lfc3110** · 2nd March 2013, 19:47:PM

Re: Need some advice- evil step mum threatening to take us to court

No there was no notes or contracts signed because there was no lending- we were given the money

**Eloise01** · 2nd March 2013, 21:48:PM

Re: Need some advice- evil step mum threatening to take us to court

Originally posted by lfc3110 View Post

No there was no notes or contracts signed because there was no lending- we were given the money

Then I agree with Sapphire - don't ignore it but if there was no proof it was anything but a gift they stand little chance of getting the money from you. A small amount of expense now is worth it to put this to bed.

**suffering** · 2nd March 2013, 21:56:PM

Re: Need some advice- evil step mum threatening to take us to court

kiss and make up its ya dad!

**Inca** · 2nd March 2013, 22:01:PM

Re: Need some advice- evil step mum threatening to take us to court

Originally posted by suffering View Post

kiss and make up its ya dad!

Whilst I totally agree with you,suffering Lifes too short etc,,sometimes things are so broken they just can't be fixed

**Eloise01** · 2nd March 2013, 22:09:PM

Re: Need some advice- evil step mum threatening to take us to court

Originally posted by Inca View Post

Whilst I totally agree with you,suffering Lifes too short etc,,sometimes things are so broken they just can't be fixed

I agree - and it's kind of hard to do when you are being threatened with legal action.

**IanM** · 2nd March 2013, 22:18:PM

Re: Need some advice- evil step mum threatening to take us to court

Originally posted by lfc3110 View Post

My father in law and his new wife don't drive and for as long as I can remember my husband has been their taxi service- we have been together 15 years and he used to take his dad and mum (rip) everywhere- He got remarried in April 2011 and we carried on fetching and carrying when we could. Last year March 2012 the balloon payment on our car was due. We could not afford to pay it off so we were going to sell the car however my father in law realised he would be without transport too so he gave us the money to pay if off £14000. About 2 months later my hubby had a falling out with his dad's new wife- resulting in his dad siding with her. We haven't spoken since but recently got a solicitors letter demanding repayment of the £14000 - This came from her to my husband- even though it was his dad that lent him it and the car is in my name -if we didn't repay the matter would go to court. Apparently they told their solicitor they only lent us the money until we sold the car to give it them back.

We don't have the money to give them so far I have ignored the solicitor's letter so any advice on what to do next would help. I also don't have the money to get a solicitor to help me

Thanks any advice would be great

First question is, How did you receive the £14000? Cash, Cheque, Transfer, Direct payment for the car......If it was cash, the only proof they have is they withdrew the money, where it went to after that can be argued. Any other method will cause difficulty in denying you had borrowed the money but you still have options.

Secondly, if you were going to sell the car to cover the balloon payment then why would you borrow the £14k till you sell the car? Obviously they will have no proof you were going to sell the car at a later date as you was going to sell it before the ballon payment until they gave you the money to keep the car.

Thirdly, if they lent the money so you could continue to be an unofficial taxi, and have been a taxi in the past, and now they want the money back over a falling out then i would treat half the money as a gift and the rest as a loan etc

If you have to acknowledge that they lent the money as opposed to a gift from them then i would start to negotiate around the halfway mark but stop the taxi service for the future.

Continue to speak to the father but cold-shoulder the new wife as she seems to be a money grabbing control freak that needs reminding who was in his life first, even drop comments about his first wife accidently on purpose to get under her skin.

**lfc3110** · 2nd March 2013, 22:49:PM

Re: Need some advice- evil step mum threatening to take us to court

the money was transfered bank to bank transfer. She went into the marriage penniless and we have known all along she was just after his money- however he is completely under the thumb- The falling out was because we found out she had been hitting him and was frightened of her but no amount of talking to him will get him to chuck her out- He didn't cope well when he lost his wife and was a lost sole having never cooked a meal in his life before so she saw his vunerability and took her chance. We know this is all her doing but and the end of the day it was his dad that gave us the money and her now suing my hubby! He won't even talk to us because he knows how angry she would be- She herself has 4 children and 2 of them don't even speak to her anymore due to fall outs- She just wants to be in control of everything and doesn't care who she hurts in the process. Really is the evil step mother

Even if it wasn't a gift and I had then money to return I'm not sure I would want her to have it anyway.

**IanM** · 2nd March 2013, 23:08:PM

Re: Need some advice- evil step mum threatening to take us to court

Originally posted by lfc3110 View Post

the money was transfered bank to bank transfer. She went into the marriage penniless and we have known all along she was just after his money- however he is completely under the thumb- The falling out was because we found out she had been hitting him and was frightened of her but no amount of talking to him will get him to chuck her out- He didn't cope well when he lost his wife and was a lost sole having never cooked a meal in his life before so she saw his vunerability and took her chance. We know this is all her doing but and the end of the day it was his dad that gave us the money and her now suing my hubby! He won't even talk to us because he knows how angry she would be- She herself has 4 children and 2 of them don't even speak to her anymore due to fall outs- She just wants to be in control of everything and doesn't care who she hurts in the process. Really is the evil step mother

Even if it wasn't a gift and I had then money to return I'm not sure I would want her to have it anyway.

If she has been hitting him and you found out then i can understand why she doesn't want you around!

Somehow you need to get evidence of her hitting him and involve the police. There is no telling how far she will go to get his money and house if you back down and stay away so i would visit him anyway and say if she doesn't like it then she can go out when you visit. You need to get him on his own and ask him what he wants to do and what he can do legally to get rid of her and what support is available to him if he was on his own.

Use the money as an excuse to go round if you have to but don't leave him isolated and under her total control or things will get worse!

**lfc3110** · 2nd March 2013, 23:35:PM

Re: Need some advice- evil step mum threatening to take us to court

Don't you think we've tried all that- she has control of his mobile, never leaves his side- and I mean never! we have talked til we are blue in the face and he is adamant she is his wife and will stand by her- we have given up and not spoken in nearly 12 months and now the letter arrives from the solicitor! i know its our word against theirs with no evidence and I am not sure whether this is a scare tactic or whether they genuinely would take us to court!

**labman** · 3rd March 2013, 01:18:AM

Re: Need some advice- evil step mum threatening to take us to court

There is no easy way to say this. If your father and step-mother insist on pursuing this all the way to court, they are perfectly entitled to do so. It will then be for the court to decide whether the money was a gift or a loan on the balance of probabilities.

You need urgently to seek some professional legal advice on this. As has already been mentioned, many solicitors do free initial consultations which might at least give you your options. Also you may have a Law Centre near you ( http://www.lawcentres.org.uk/ ), or CAB may be able to help, though the quality of their advice is very variable.

Without wishing to pry too much, if the balloon payment was £14000, it is clearly a rather nice car. Did you parents help at all with the deposit, or have they gifted you money previously? These are all things which would be considered by a court. Otherwise, prying a little deeper, you must have been paying fairly substantial monthly repayments on the car up until such time as the balloon payment was due. Surely the money saved on these payments would pay for an hour or two of a solicitors time?

The argument that it was a loan only until you were able to sell the car surely does not hold water at all. My understanding of a balloon payment was that instead of making this payment, you could hand back the car, and that then is effectively the end of the matter. If my understanding is correct, why would you borrow a substantial amount of money, purely in order to then sell the vehicle to repay it again. Common sense would dictate surely that you would simply have handed back the vehicle and walked away in the first place.

**Inca** · 3rd March 2013, 08:06:AM

Re: Need some advice- evil step mum threatening to take us to court

Definitely get some legal advice hun.
Re Dad being battered...see if you can at least drop a massive hint to his GP that you have concerns,maybe he/she will pick up the gauntlet and start 'watching'. You need to tread carefully though,because unfounded allegations can come back and bite ya in the bum but I fully understand your concerns,my own Dad was disabled and I found out after his death that he had been 'slapped' a few times,my siblings had dealt with it without telling me as they were concerned it would adversely affect my own health,suffice to say the law,,and Karma (eventually) both sorted the 'slapper' out.
I wish you all luck.

**Sapphire** · 3rd March 2013, 08:12:AM

Re: Need some advice- evil step mum threatening to take us to court

Have a chat with Age UK off the record so to speak, they might be able to guide you on the way forward re the abuse of your dad.

Christ nothing makes my blood boil more than hearing of any person being abused, or indeed animals.

Need some advice- evil step mum threatening to take us to court

Need some advice- evil step mum threatening to take us to court

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