EX trying to take back gift with law suit

[jilted84098]

What is the name of your state? Utah
My ex boyfriend deposited $28,000 in cash in my bank account. $6,000 was a payback for money I loaned him. $4,900 was to pay me back for the car I bought him. The rest of the money was a gift. We have broken up and he told me that if I left his house ASAP I could have the money as a parting gift/settlement to get myself on my feet with a deposit on a new home purchase. He has since learned that he has $12,000 of unexpected bills to pay. He now is demanding the money back from me. I told him that he has no legal recourse to reclaim a gift and loan payback. He is the one who deposited the money into my bank account directly. Can he sue me to take this money back after the fact??What is the name of your state?

[beta]

Yes. as long as proof of transaction can be presented to the court!

[tranquility]

We have broken up and he told me that if I left his house ASAP I could have the money as a parting gift/settlement to get myself on my feet with a deposit on a new home purchase.

While he could sue, that does not mean he would win. If he "gave" you the money, he probably could get it back on the theory of claim of right as there was no contract because there is no consideration. However, you would argue that it was a settlement. That it was a contract where you gave up your rights as to possession of part of the house (Otherwise he would have to evict you.) in return for the money and that sufferance of tenancy was your consideration for the money. After that, I'm sure you could come up with other things the "settlement" was for.

Make him sue you and argue about it in court.

[BelizeBreeze]

Originally Posted by tranquility

While he could sue, that does not mean he would win. If he "gave" you the money, he probably could get it back on the theory of claim of right as there was no contract because there is no consideration. However, you would argue that it was a settlement. That it was a contract where you gave up your rights as to possession of part of the house (Otherwise he would have to evict you.) in return for the money and that sufferance of tenancy was your consideration for the money. After that, I'm sure you could come up with other things the "settlement" was for.

Make him sue you and argue about it in court.

your argument is predicated on the unprovided fact that she has any claim to the home . His argument will be a gift predicated on the promise of a relationship which no longer exists.

As to you poster, If you were in my office I'd suggest you settle with him now before wasting your time and money on a lawsuit both of you have an equal chance to win.

[MyHouse]

How does one suddenly have $12K of "unexpected" bills?

Are you sure you are telling the whole story?

[jilted84098]

his unexpected bills are an unfortunate mixture of medical claims that did not go through, car repairs, and a lawsuit (from someone else) that he lost. this guy is completely shady and it is catching up with him. i do not feel like helping him out by giving the money back he gave to me as a gift out of the goodness of my own heart for the mere fact that he habitually screws people over and it needs to stop. he messed up my living situation, put me in a severe financial pinch, (not to mention lied and cheated on me) and i'm not ready to be in that situation again.

[MyHouse]

Well, he did pay you back for the loan and the car, which is not shady. Was he shady to other people, but not you? And how does somebody who needs to borrow money from his girlfriend to get a car, suddenly come up with $28K? Maybe this is beyond me because I work a regular job... Did he get the $28K legally? If he got it in some "shady" way, then he may not want to raise a fuss about you paying it back. Does that make sense?

[jilted84098]

he took out $28K cash in a home equity loan when he bought the new house that we just moved into. when i caught him cheating on me, i obviously did not have any plans for new living arrangements. he then paid me back for the loans and gave me money to move into a new purchase for myself. we were just about to get married when this happened, and we had been moving up the ladder remodeling and flipping homes for profit. they had all been in his name, but it was mostly my hard work and sweat going into the projects...which is why he agreed to give me the money....i guess it was a gift given to me out of his guilty conscience. he has since then gotten notices to repay someone he illegally took $6000 from, had his old medical claims rejected, and had his car (that I loaned him $ to buy) break down. He now is calling me constantly saying he wants the gift money back to pay his bills. I have since purchased a new home for myself and can't afford to give him the "gift" back. I don't feel he has a right to it.

[tranquility]

your argument is predicated on the unprovided fact that she has any claim to the home .

I don't think she has any ownership claim, but, if she lived there for any real length of time with permission, she has some rights as a tenant. If she left before she was legally required to, that would be consideration. Slight consideration for the amount we're talking about, but the courts don't like looking at the adequacy of consideration.

Talking is always better than bringing the courts in. I merely pointed out that the OP's ex does not have a slam dunk.

[BelizeBreeze]

Originally Posted by jilted84098

he took out $28K cash in a home equity loan when he bought the new house that we just moved into. when i caught him cheating on me, i obviously did not have any plans for new living arrangements. he then paid me back for the loans and gave me money to move into a new purchase for myself. we were just about to get married when this happened, and we had been moving up the ladder remodeling and flipping homes for profit. they had all been in his name, but it was mostly my hard work and sweat going into the projects...which is why he agreed to give me the money....i guess it was a gift given to me out of his guilty conscience. he has since then gotten notices to repay someone he illegally took $6000 from, had his old medical claims rejected, and had his car (that I loaned him $ to buy) break down. He now is calling me constantly saying he wants the gift money back to pay his bills. I have since purchased a new home for myself and can't afford to give him the "gift" back. I don't feel he has a right to it.

Then why are you still here? No one is going to give you permission to withhold the money or tell you specifically that you have a "RIGHT" to it. That will occur when the court makes it's ruling.

as you have already been told, the loan repayments are a moot point. The ONLY part of this that is in question is the amount over and above that amount. And the court's ruling could go either way.

You have no more "RIGHT" to this money because you are in possession of it than I do, based on the facts presented.

[jilted84098]

sorry belize, i'm just here for the advice, hence the name of the forum. i've never been given a gift where someone has tried to take it back later. i was just hoping that i would find out that his claim to the money was legally out of the question precendented by other cases, which is apparently not the case here. i suppose the next and last time i see him will be in court.

[MyHouse]

How can he prove that you didn't earn that money flipping houses with him?

[BelizeBreeze]

Originally Posted by jilted84098

sorry belize, i'm just here for the advice, hence the name of the forum. i've never been given a gift where someone has tried to take it back later. i was just hoping that i would find out that his claim to the money was legally out of the question precendented by other cases, which is apparently not the case here. i suppose the next and last time i see him will be in court.

Did he give you an engagement ring? Guess what? That is a gift in anticipation of marriage. Just as this one was. And the marriage did not occur. So, what do you think the court will do?

[MyHouse]

If he was kicking her out of his house, I doubt the gift could be considered to be in anticipation of marriage.

[jilted84098]

the gift was in guilt AFTER the break up because he knew we were in that house to fix it up and make money, and knew i was going to be leaving without any profits from the previous house we made money on. he gave it to me so i could afford to buy my own house and continue with my own climb up the real estate ladder...which i did.