Hello Guys
Thank you for your time
We wanted to get your thoughts and any guidance you guys can offer about a messy situation that my Best friend mother is in.
My Friends mother gave her 2nd daughter and her husband a substantial amount of money(150k) half her life saving for purchasing their first home last year for their deposit on the understanding that they will return the money back once they move into the new house, however after the settlement they completely stopped talking to the Mother , no communication and also does not allow her to see the grandkids :-(.
The 2 kids have grown up with their grandma by their side since birth and she has looked after then almost every day as the daughter would always say she is too tired to look after 2 kids (the daughter doesn’t work)
Since last year the mother has gone into severe depression as not being able to see the grand kids and being felt used and abused by her own daughter both emotionally and financially
Now 2 weeks ago my friend found out that the house that the 2nd daughter who purchased the house using her mother’s funds has the property for sale and which is currently under offer. When my friend told her mother about this, she then said she had given even more money to the second daughter and her husband prior to them purchasing the house for the husband to purchase a Food Truck (around 50k)
Her mother has been asking for them to return the money that she gave them since last year but they have blocked her # and do not even open the door when she goes to their house, once day she sat in her car in front of the house from 7 am to about 10 pm and both daughter and husband kept going in and out and ignored her calls to talk to them or let her see the grandkids
Now she wants her money back and doesn’t know what to do , they have seem a lawyer who has not been that great as when they spoke to him first he said he would send them a Letter of demand and give them 7 days to pay and if they don’t then put a caveat on the house and that he will get her money back but he also stopped responding to calls and did not do anything for the first 7 days and only after a week went my they were able to get in touch with another solicitor from the same firm who has just send out a Letter of demand 2 days ago giving them 7 days to pay but has said that she can’t put a caveat on the property as it’s not a caveatable interest which is not what the first lawyer from the same firm advised based on which she paid the lawyer fees.
We would appreciate if anyone could advice or help on what can my friends mother do to get her money back.
The daughter who took the money had also sent a handwritten card last year saying " Thanks mum for the money to purchase our house, we will return it once we move in "
The husband is a bad person, he first married to an Aussie to get a PR then divorced her and now this. When her mother asked him about his previous marriage he said in his religion he can marry 3-4 times its allowed
Please keep the comments clean as their family is going through a tough time.
Thank you all in advance
Edit 1 Since lot of people as asking
Examples of why Grandma believes the husband is not a nice person :
Being married before to get a PR and then divorced the girl once his PR was granted
Kept pressuring and pushing her daughter to come to grandma asking for money for the the food truck
Telling her daughter to strictly start following his religion if she wants to be with him
Forcing her to wear the traditional head attire in public , and the cruelest of all
Getting angry, abusive and blaming her daughter when they found out their second child is also a GIRL not a BOY. Left her pregnant daughter in the mall when she went and bought little baby girl clothes for child to come telling her that its her fault that she's giving birth to a girl not a boy .
The money for the house was given after the second child where the daughter would come to grandma and literally crying and begging for the money to help her family get a house of their own
Grandma was in touch with her daughter through all this via phone and catch ups without telling the husband. But after the settlement even this stopped and last phone call from her she said that She is changing her religion and Name doesn't want the grandma to have anything with her and she dare not let the kids go visit or see the grandma
Your screen name speaks volumes about you.