Question asked on May 05th, 2017

Q: I was taking care of my girlfriend financially and i have sent her a lot of money, there was also money i loaned her and the way she would pay me back was her letting me use her bank account to pay my credit cards. When we broke up she reported it as unauthorized transactions and now she is keeping all that money.

A:  “A lot of money” may mean different things to different people.  The “small claims limit” is $10,000, and self-help forms are available on line.  The evidence of practice and procedure (that is, what you were doing and how you did it) is in your favor — and the probable absence of any written agreement or documentation of the loans is a problem.  Is there any documentation on the transfers indicating their purpose was a loan rather than a gift?  This sort of case is usually best settled, but if you can’t get any cooperaiton, you might have to file suit, in small claims, or a regular civil action.  This sort of case does not really fall within the usual “family court” ambit.

Marshal S. Willick