Personal property query

buggles

I am not looking for legal advice, if someone could direct me to the answer I would greatly appreciate it Or even if there is a quick answer to my query.

If you lent a legal document, a contract, to someone and they refuse to give it back what are your options?

dermot_sheehan

Depends,

depends to whom, and if they could have exercised a lien over it.

buggles

The person who has the contract is the mother of the person in question. She also has a few other things that belong to the person.

Greenmachine

What are we talking here. Birth Certs and stuff. Easy as pie to relace if that is the case.

wait you said contract never mind.

buggles

Okay, I'll give a little more backround, please don't kill me mods!!

The person (and her partner) took a sizeable loan from their parents, to put people's mind at ease a contract was drawn up by the parents solicitor regarding repayments etc. The parents then seperated and the mother wanted a copy of the contract to show her solicitor. The loan now has nothing to do with the mother but she will not return any of the documentation given to her so the couple have nothing in their possession. She also has a letter addressed to the person which she will also not return.

Greenmachine

Wow sound like a difficult situation. Personal I never give anyone original of my docs, but even I wouldn't have seen something like this coming. Your friend really need to press home with her mom the importance of havinga copy of the contract. By any chance is she repaying the loan by bank as opposed to cash in hand. If she knows the terms of the loan etc and how long and how much is left to pay on it, continue as nornal. If the loan is paid off. Then she needs to stop payment. If the other parent feels the loan isn't paid off when it is. Then th onus would be on them to prove that was the case with their copy of the contract.

buggles

Hey Greenmachine, difficult is putting it mildly! The loan now has nothing to do with the mother, it is being repaid in entirety to the father, and still being paid off. Things are okay with the father at the moment but as you said, don't see some things coming. That's why I was wondering if she and her partner have any legal way to getting the documentation back.

Reloc8

As I understand it the child in this situation wants a copy of the contract drawn up which lent money to her from her parents. The parents have separated and the mother retains a copy of the contract.

Just a quick background query - who was the solicitor acting for when contract for the loan was drawn up ? If the mother and father, then the father is entitled to a copy from that solicitor presuming the legal fees were paid, same goes if he/she was acting for father alone. This might be a different avenue to pursue.

In the event of the mother seeking to make any claim for the money lent she would have to produce the contract during those proceedings. This might be of some comfort/protection. I presume it was agreed between the parents in the separation that the father would take over the repayments. What is very important is that the daughter keep a good record of repayments made so that there can be no question over how much has been advanced in repayment.

I agree it is concerning that no copy has been retained - in general obviously a person should keep a copy of any contract they sign. I would also suggest a person in this position write to a) the mother and b) the solicitor who drafted seeking a copy contract so as to put this 'on the record' so to speak.

edit from original answer on basis that original answer fundamentally misunderstood question...

buggles

Coler wrote: »

As I understand it the child in this situation wants a copy of the contract drawn up which lent money to her from her parents. The parents have separated and the mother retains a copy of the contract.

She wants back her and her partners copy of the contract, which was given to her mother as she thought the daughter had been repaying too much. The couple paid a % of the solicitor fees and all other incurring costs - the loan came from the family home being remortgaged, it was used by the couple as the deposit for their house.

Coler wrote: »

Just a quick background query - who was the solicitor acting for when contract for the loan was drawn up ? If the mother and father, then the father is entitled to a copy from that solicitor presuming the legal fees were paid, same goes if he/she was acting for father alone. This might be a different avenue to pursue.

The solicitor was the fathers, the contract had been the daughters idea to put her parents mind at ease, I believe the father has his own copy.

Coler wrote: »

In the event of the mother seeking to make any claim for the money lent she would have to produce the contract during those proceedings. This might be of some comfort/protection. I presume it was agreed between the parents in the separation that the father would take over the repayments. What is very important is that the daughter keep a good record of repayments made so that there can be no question over how much has been advanced in repayment.

The daughter tried having a number of conversations with her mother concerning her % of the outstanding loan and how she was entitled to half, the family home was sold and the balance of the remortgage had been repaid from the sale, for some unknown reason she was not interested.

Coler wrote: »

I agree it is concerning that no copy has been retained - in general obviously a person should keep a copy of any contract they sign. I would also suggest a person in this position write to a) the mother and b) the solicitor who drafted seeking a copy contract so as to put this 'on the record' so to speak.

Oh believe me the girl REALLY regrets handing over everything she did, she'd suffered a nervous breakdown at the end of the previous year and believed everything she was being told and trusted that her mother was acting in her interest, she has emailed her mother asking for it back and was told to stay away from her.
Thank you for your help. Her mother is deliberately making this more difficult than it needs to be, she loves the attention, that's why I'd love to be able to say to her that she has legal ground to either go to the Guards for help, or say to her mother that she can take legal action against her, though I hope she wouldn't have to do that. Her partner is ready to lose the plot!

Reloc8

Sounds like a nasty situation. However there is no role here for the gardai or indeed any legal action presuming that the money continues to be repaid and no one tries to claim payment of more than was lent/tries to claim outside of the terms of the agreed repayments.

You know yourself what the best way to cope with a drama queen - cut off the life blood of the drama by not engaging on that issue. Good luck with it.

buggles

Thanks Coler, that a shame there's no legal recourse for her, she's trying to get a few things back from her so she can get on with her life.