statue of limitation for loans from person to person

i loaned my brother over 10,000 dollars in 97 have been trying
to collect it ever since evertime i go to a lawyer they put us off now the last lawyer i spoke with said there is nothing that we can do was wondering how long is it before you can sue someone for a loan within the family really need to know we also have a check he gave us for 300 dollars that we could never cash cause there was never any funds to cash it can you please let us know about this also

La has a 10 year statute of limitations for collecting on this type of debt. So, you have 10 years from the last time he made a payment (or you gave him the money if he never made a payment) to sue him.

You need to find a better attorney.... there is plenty you can do. However, you may want to talk with your brother one more time. Tell him that if he doesn't pay you, you will sue him in court and obtain a judgement. That judgement can be used to take his personal property, vehicle, place a lien on his home, etc. In other words, if he doesn't pay you, his stuff will eventually become your stuff.

[JETX]

Gottago isn't exactly correct.

Lousiana SOL for debt:
Open Acct.: 3 years
Written Contract: 10 years
Promissory Notes:5 years

Is this 'loan' agreement in writing??
Is it a 'written contract' or an IOU??

What is the date on the check?? That is the date of "last action" that starts the statutory clock.

The remainder of his response is accurate.

The check I made out to him is dated June, 1997. All we have is the check with his signature and the word loan written on the memo area. We have made several attempt to work this out with him, he has told me not to call his house back because I am no longer his family. So that is why we are going the attorney route. He has never made one payment or anything to the sort. As far as a new attorney it is hard to find one that will handle this type of case, but i would like to thank you for the advice.

Halket's correct... I had the wrong SOL information for LA.

Since you don't have anything in writing (except for the check), you're probably out of luck at this point. However, that doesn't mean the brother knows that you're out of luck.

Try finding out if he knows his rights. Start by sending him a certified, return-receipt letter. Demand payment of the loan in full. Explain that if the loan isn't paid in full, you will file a lawsuit against him to collect the debt.

If you're lucky, he won't know that the SOL protects him, and he might cough-up some cash before he finds out.

People often get scared and pay when threatened with legal action. The threat doesn't need to be a valid one...just the preception of the damage that can be done.

[JETX]

Sorry, but Gottago got this one wrong also.

The check (written contract) noted as loan, was dated June 1997. With the applicable SOL of 5 years, the debt would remain valid until June 2002... which is coming fast. I suggest that you do NOT delay. Go down to your small claims court and file your case IMMEDIATELY.

Ok, I'm reversing my earlier statement here. I'm seeing several sources that indicate that the SOL is 10 years across the board for a written, oral or promissory note in LA. I can't locate the actual LA statute, so I'm using the other sources (which are often wrong). Where are you getting 5 years ?

[JETX]

Louisiana (years):
Open Acct.: 3
Written Contract: 10
Promissory Notes: 5
Domestic Judgment: 10
Foreign Judgment: 10
Source: [url]http://www.hpacollect.com/laws/map_laws.htm[/url]

I don't know then...

These all say 10 years:

[url]http://www.cardreport.com/laws/statute-of-limitations.html[/url]

[url]http://www.creditinfocenter.com/rebuild/statuteLimitations.shtml[/url]

[url]http://www.faircreditmovement.org/statuteoflimitations.htm[/url]


However, this one says 5 years for a PN:

[url]http://www.olddebts.com/state_list.html#LA[/url]


So, I will now leave this subject...confused, befuddled and too lazy to find out which site is correct.....

[nailtech]

Gottago and Halket**************. I have a question for you...

can they not cash the check reactivate the loan and if and when it bounces also get him for "theft by check"???

... if so they could also get him jailed if he didnt cover the check and fees afterwards and when he did that it would reactivate the loan payment and knock out the SOL..... right?

just courious...