Hello
Welcome to Just Answer
I am a Solicitor and will assist you.
I can confirm that in relation to monies received from a relative in relation to a property, that when it comes to dealing with divorce and the financials then it is not unusual for an argument to occur as to whether the money was a gift or a loan.
What you need to know is that if the money was a loan then it is not considered to be part of the matrimonial assets, whereas if it was a gift then it would be.
What you have in your favour is that you have been consistently been paying a direct debit for the last 6 years. This evidences that the money was a loan and a Judge would likely be persuaded that this was not a gift but a loan with the monies to be repaid by the fact that you have been paying a direct debit for so long.
Whilst a written agreement in relation to the loan would have been a good idea, with hindsight, it can be that loans can be agreed verbally and do not need to be in writing and the fact that you have been paying a direct debit assists your argument.
It then comes down to how you proceed, if the amount to be repaid under the loan is large and your wife is arguing that this is a gift then it may well be that it is worth letting the court decide this for you. The court can hear evidence from your father as well as considering the direct debit payments so that the court can decide on the balance of probabilities (51/49) whether they consider this was a gift or a loan that was to be repaid.
Let me know if I can assist you further.
kind regards
Caroline
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