lien on my house

[MJA89]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Va

I recently divorced in FL, but my X and I have a house in Va which we agreed to sell per our mediated agreement (included in final judgment) in Florida. When we purchased the house, her mother gave us money for the down payment. We also received money from my parents. On the loan application we disclosed both as gifts, not loans. We did repay my parents years later when we refinanced the house. We offered to pay her mother back at that time, but she did not take the money. Then the divorce. Now she wants the money back, at least my half. In the divorce mediation, it was not included as part of the outstanding debt on the house. In spite of that, my x mother in law contacted a lawyer who sent me a letter demanding immediate repayment plus interest. Included with the letter was a copy of the original check with "Loan for house" written on the memo line after the fact. I responded, via my lawyer, that there was no loan and that we would like to see the original check to examine if the mention of loan had been written later. She dropped her demand for the time, but is now pursuing a lien on the house in Virginia prior to the sale. My X, who signed the loan application declaring that no part of the down payment was a loan and who signed a divorce settlement agreement that there was no loan other that the mortgage, now says the money from her mother was a loan. I guess my question is, was it a loan? Does the copy of a personal check with the word "loan" written on it (after the fact) constitute a contract? How can I fight this?

 

[DAD10]

You stated it was a loan- although you lied on the loan application indicating it was a gift. Why do you think it would be anything else?

 

[MJA89]

I'm not sure where I stated it was a loan in my post. The only reason we gave the money back to my parents when we refinanced was because they needed money at the time, not because there was a previous agreement to pay them back. At the same time, we offered to give the same amount back to her mother, who stated the my X that it was "an advance on her inheritance." When the money was given to us by my x mother in law, there was no agreement to pay it back.

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Va

I recently divorced in FL, but my X and I have a house in Va which we agreed to sell per our mediated agreement (included in final judgment) in Florida. When we purchased the house, her mother gave us money for the down payment. We also received money from my parents. On the loan application we disclosed both as gifts, not loans. We did repay my parents years later when we refinanced the house. We offered to pay her mother back at that time, but she did not take the money. Then the divorce. Now she wants the money back, at least my half. In the divorce mediation, it was not included as part of the outstanding debt on the house. In spite of that, my x mother in law contacted a lawyer who sent me a letter demanding immediate repayment plus interest. Included with the letter was a copy of the original check with "Loan for house" written on the memo line after the fact. I responded, via my lawyer, that there was no loan and that we would like to see the original check to examine if the mention of loan had been written later. She dropped her demand for the time, but is now pursuing a lien on the house in Virginia prior to the sale. My X, who signed the loan application declaring that no part of the down payment was a loan and who signed a divorce settlement agreement that there was no loan other that the mortgage, now says the money from her mother was a loan. I guess my question is, was it a loan? Does the copy of a personal check with the word "loan" written on it (after the fact) constitute a contract? How can I fight this?

**A: you need your own attorney as this is not a simple matter. Your evidence is the gift letter that was given to the lender prior to loan closing.