Loan to my son

[Juanita22]

Hi,

I have agreed to lend my son quite a large sum of money to enable him to buy his ex-wife out of the former matrimonial home. I am a retired, single person and I need to be sure that this sum is repaid within 2 years, which he has agreed to do. Can you please tell me if an email agreeing the terms will be sufficient to protect me should there be any problems in the future?

Many thanks,
Juanita

[seduraed]

Re: Loan to my son

I would go to a lawer and have a formal loan agreement drawn up. Ithe should state the amount that leant, and the terms ofor repayment. If the house is fully paid for there may be waYstrad of securing it against the house, but the solicitor will be able to advise. There are firms of solicitors advertising on this site who may be able to help.

[des8]

Re: Loan to my son

Private 2nd mortgage secured on the house: https://www.thebalance.com/private-m...tch-for-315693

[Peridot]

Re: Loan to my son

In order to protect yourself and to have be able to enforce the arrangement should he default, the agreement has to be in writing, stipulating the amounts, length of the agreement, date the arrangement starts, how and when the repayment(s) should be made etc and signed by both of you to be certain you can enforce the agreement.

This can be a hand written agreement but if you send an e-mail with what you believe is the agreement and then you receive no confirmation from him, you may have difficulties enforcing the terms, should he default.

To get an agreement drawn up by a lawyer may be sensible, just to ensure belt and braces on the terms, particularly if you are reliant on having the money paid back. There are template loan agreements available on the internet but do check that they are based on England/Wales law. There may be a small fee to pay to download a template on some sites, but worth considering if the loan is straightforward.