Brother that owes me money?

Question

Heres the story.. Two years ago i was working full time and making good money. My brother was having financial problems. I took $5,000 of his debt and put it on my credit card so he could get his debts paid off and straighten out his credit. The agreement was that he would make the credit card payment and pay it off as soon as he could. Since then alot has changed. He spent a year in Kuwait in the Army and left it up to his wife to handle while he was gone. She gave me money here and there but not as much as I paid. Now that he is back he doesnt have a job and cant afford to pay me anything but i cant afford it either. I love my brother dearly and was only trying to help but am in a jam now because i lost my job and i cant afford to make the payments for him but its in my name so i have to pay it since he isnt. What would you suggest I do to get this mess cleared up?

Answer 1

I would look for a part-time job or a full-time job that pays good money, and I would make my resume looks really good. Make your brother get a job so he can pay you back month by month. Tell him that just because you helped him out, it doesn't mean he can take it for granted and that you know he doesn't have a job, but he should start looking. If none if this works, you can always borrow, or file for bankrupcy (I hope you don't have to)!

Answer 2

aww, how nice of to help your brother out at that large of a debt!

anyhow, unless you are willing to take him to court, then really, there is not much you can do. I'd assume you don't want to have to take your brother, but sometimes it comes down to that. you can call your credit card company and ask if you can be placed on a payment program, it will go to your credit score, but only as slow pay, which is not as bad as not paying at all. tell them your situation and that you don't want to NOT pay the bill, they'll usually reduce the minimal monthly payment and extend time between payments....I hope you get this straightened out! I once opened a visa account and let my mom have the card when she was having hard times, with the promise she would pay the bill...and now I am in debt and have extrememly bad credit!

Answer 3

I am assuming that your brother is getting unemployment, as you are. If not I suggest that he (and you) apply as soon as possible.

I would also suggest that you sit down with your brother and explain the situation in terms of responsibility and reasonableness. It is unclear as to whether or not his wife is working, however, in any case I would also recommend that you should ask for percentage of his household income (let him and his wife decide on the amount).

For your own piece of mind, find a Job - anything to bring money into the house to pay off the credit card. Early payments will cancel out some interest.

As for your brother's situation, don't berate him about finding a job. He may mistake your concern for his (and his family"s) welfare for nagging in an attempt to get your money. Such misconception can lead to family arguments and potentially the loss of the kinship between you and your brother.

Answer 4

It's a tough one, can you ask him to borrow some money from his credit union or in laws, or parents? Just let him know he needs to be responsible with this, for what you helped him with, because you had an agreement and you are in a bad financial situation and can't pay for his debt, it is not yours. Tell him to find whatever means he has, he should be able to get a loan, especially if he is in the Army. Does he own a home? If he does, tell him to refinance it or get a HELOC, (home equity line of credit)
it's quite simple!so he can pay you, resposibility is responsibility, Good luck
Learn from this and never do it again, that's the way it goes, you can never lend money to people, I always just let my family members have it, I tell them you don't have to give it back, because I know I'll never see it. If I have it I let them have it, otherwise it creates a lot of tension and messes, I've told people lately I'm not an ATM you know..

Answer 5

First and foremost, It is good that you love and care for your brother.

Sometimes people wind up not speaking or not caring for their family members when it comes to money.

You should sit down and have a heart-to-heart conversation and tell him how you feel. Let him not that you let him borrow the money out of kindness but he is to still be responsible for paying you back in some shape for form.

Also tell him that you do not want him to take advantage of your kindness. Sometimes you have to let people know this because they will continue to do this until you let them know.

Also put something in writing informing him of how you want the money paid back over time. This is also a good idea because it reinforces that this was a loan not a gift. And you also want him to know that he is to pay if pack to you soon.

Since you have to pay it back for now contact the company and let them know that you want to develop a payment plan so you can pay back the monies in a timely and efficient manner.

Hope all works out for you. And I also hope your brother will pay you back!

God Bless....

Answer 6

Do you have anything in writing from your brother,or did he ever mentioned he will not make some pat payments even.How much money your brother's wife paid you? Based on the evidence you can ask (request) your credit card company by securing account guard (protection),so that they will exempt you from the debt for a period of six months at least.Account guard will charge you monthly fee of $ 2.50 0r less per month.So your credit score will remain untouch.

Answer 7

Your brother owes you the money and it's his responsibility to repay you. The credit card bill to be paid on time on a regular basis or it will harm your credit. What you done for him was a very nice thing and he needs to take care of it for you. I dont know the reason for his unemployment, but he needs to get any job he can find at this point and pay hid debt to you. Even if it's not his job of choice, he should take it, at least for now. Good luck to you.

Answer 8

It's ok to help someone out, but always leave the debt in THEIR NAME. Once you transfer it to YOUR NAME, it's your debt, and unfortunately there is little you can do at this point.

I would suggest sitting down with your brother and telling him in reality this is his debt. Sure, you moved it to your credit card but he has to be the man, step up and pay it off. You helped him when he needed it now it's his turn.

Just be glad it was $5,000 instead of $10,000, which trust me happens all the time with family members.

Answer 9

Have a serious talk with him asking him for at least 1 qt of the money that he owes our father. Than ask him for your money. And if he doesn't have it tell him he has I dont know say two weeks to come up with the money or your either going to stop lending him money, and most likely going to whip his ***, or your taking him to court. I'd go with the 1st one though, trust me it always works.

Answer 10

first of all you don't loan family money it's a bad idea in instances like this, if they need the money give what you have, but there is no need to put yourself into debt to help get him out but now that you're in the mess i would say it's gonna suck but you're gonna have to make sacrifices. i don't know you're budget but if you're driving stop, take a bus or get a ride from a buddy. frugle isn't the word for what you're going to have to be. next tell your brother that alot of **** happened and it's nobody's fault but you are both in trouble and you need to do a little "high speed" team work to get out, say "high speed" to him too( it's like military slang). i'm sure that if you found one good job that led to good money then you can find another and if not then you'll have to find a temporary one working at wal_mart or something to try and make the ends meet. it is just as much you're brothers responsibility but if you're an *** and try and blame it all on him he'll tell you to go to hell, if you try to tell him that this is his mess to fix then he'll tell you to go to hell , and last but not leas if you try and guilt trip him he will tell you to die and burn in hell. so make sure that you too stay together as neither of you can really afford to loose the other now especially you.