threatening lawsuit-ex boyfriend wants money

[jbit6]

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

My ex-boyfriend's attorney sent me an email threatening to file a lawsuit for 34K because my boyfriend helped me pay down debt prior to purchasing house. Yes, it is true that he helped me pay down my credit cards but the only reason they were my credit cards is because he has no credit. He had free use of my credit cards and the debt he helped me pay down was debt he helped incur. The reason for our split is because I would not put him on deed because he was not on loan. He chose to move out even though I tried to talk him into working through this. He now has no money saved. I can show how I have supported him (yes he worked but he lived like a king with my income) over the 5 years we were together and how I have given him money in the past when he needed it. Does he have any chance of taking me to court over this?

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

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

My ex-boyfriend's attorney sent me an email threatening to file a lawsuit for 34K because my boyfriend helped me pay down debt prior to purchasing house. Yes, it is true that he helped me pay down my credit cards but the only reason they were my credit cards is because he has no credit. He had free use of my credit cards and the debt he helped me pay down was debt he helped incur. The reason for our split is because I would not put him on deed because he was not on loan. He chose to move out even though I tried to talk him into working through this. He now has no money saved. I can show how I have supported him (yes he worked but he lived like a king with my income) over the 5 years we were together and how I have given him money in the past when he needed it. Does he have any chance of taking me to court over this?

Is there anything in writing?

 

[jbit6]

No, nothing was in writing. I paid all the bills and he put money into our joint savings account. This actually became an issue when I bought the house because I could not use the money in the savings account for the down payment because I could not show that I put that amount of money into our savings account. They would not just understand that we had "an arrangement" I was bills, he was savings. Over the years we lived in China for a year (on my dime) and we have lived very comfortably, eating out when we wanted, buying what we wanted.
I guess I am answering my own question here, I just can't believe that someone can just go to court and file a lawsuit, that would in turn, require me to hire an attorney, research and prove my case with credit card and bank statements. Can someone just file a lawsuit like this? I know that I can't go after him for my attorney's fees when I win, I will never see the money!

 

[mistoffolees]

No, nothing was in writing. I paid all the bills and he put money into our joint savings account. This actually became an issue when I bought the house because I could not use the money in the savings account for the down payment because I could not show that I put that amount of money into our savings account. They would not just understand that we had "an arrangement" I was bills, he was savings. Over the years we lived in China for a year (on my dime) and we have lived very comfortably, eating out when we wanted, buying what we wanted.
I guess I am answering my own question here, I just can't believe that someone can just go to court and file a lawsuit, that would in turn, require me to hire an attorney, research and prove my case with credit card and bank statements. Can someone just file a lawsuit like this? I know that I can't go after him for my attorney's fees when I win, I will never see the money!

Someone can file a lawsuit over just about anything. Winning is a different matter.

Don't lose sleep over it. If they file (which is by no means certain), retain an attorney to defend yourself. The attorney will point out that there is no evidence that the money was a loan and was therefore simply shared expenses and/or a gift. Ex will have the burden to prove that you owe him the money and without documentation, that's going to be hard.

Of course, you are also free to settle if you feel that you owe him something (morally, if not legally).

 

[jbit6]

Sad thing is that I have been helping him out a bit financially even though we are not together anymore. I would have kept doing this (in fact we just had dinner last night, my treat) but now that he has "lawyer'd" up, I don't feel I owe him one red cent and am disgusted that I wasted so much money on him already. So, NO, I don't feel I owe him anything Morally at this point either, but understand why you mentioned it. Thanks for the good advice. I will try not to worry....

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

Normally, attorney's don't "email" to another person.

 

[jbit6]

Very interesting. It has his name and esquire on the top and then his office address on bottom. It even states at the beginning of the email that it is being sent "via electronic mail only" I think I am going to sit tight and see if anything happens. It said that I was to respond by Sept 13. I guess I will wait and see if I get anything else from them. Maybe he is just trying to see if he could bully me. Again, I was helping him out since he left but he just cut all strings with this move. I am afraid to even talk to him in case there is a lawsuit in our future. Thanks for the help!

 

[Zigner]

I believe it's entirely possible for the attorney to shoot you an email. This is a new age we're in . However, it doesn't change the fact that a letter such as you received could have cost as little as $25 for the ex...or even could have been free through a friend-of-a-friend. Sit tight.

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

what response was he expecting?

 

[jbit6]

He wanted me to contact his office by Sept 13 so that we could come up with an amicable arrangement. If I didn't, they would start legal action to sue me for the 34K and then place a lien on my house.

 

[mistoffolees]

He wanted me to contact his office by Sept 13 so that we could come up with an amicable arrangement. If I didn't, they would start legal action to sue me for the 34K and then place a lien on my house.

Sounds like an empty threat, but you really have 2 options:

1. Simply ignore the email and don't do anything.
2. Call the attorney before Sept 13 and tell them that you don't owe anyone any money, but if they have a promissory note that you'll be happy to look at it and then discuss a settlement.

Frankly, I doubt if it matters which one you do. It will probably go away either way.