A family mmbr borrowed money from another family mmbr,no promissory note no written agrmt Can the money be collected?

He'll have to court and file a civil suit. there he will encounter all the difficulties with proving an oral contract. If he can prove it he can obtain a judgment and collect if there are any assets.

In this case, you would have to file a civil suit. In my opinion, any judge would review this case and based on no written contract or anything like that, the judge would only be able to look at the case as a He said She said kinda thing. Whenever you lend ANY sort of loan in any amount (especially large amounts), make sure that you sit down and come up with a written contract or something ON PAPER stating that the borrower will repay you. Without proper documentation, what do you have to go on?

Depending on the state you're in (Google "one party consent" and ask an attorney), it might be a good time to wear a wire or hook up a tape recorder. Again, check your state's law, but in NJ, it's legal and admissible (so long as you are a party to the conversation).

As to the loan, it depends on the amount and there may be other considerations (there could be a statute of limitations issue ...), but getting the fact of the loan on tape at least gets you over that hump if he lies (denies it was paid, or says it was a gift or whatever).

Again, there could be many other issues -- ask a lawyer, please don't rely on this, especially if we're talking about a substantial sum of money.