Hello,I have a promisory note signed by a friend of mine for a loan of $30,000 I made to him back in 2002. He made the agreed upon payments $594 for 13 months, starting on August, 2002. There has not been any payment made since September of 2003. He died on 6/29/12. I was wondering if I could sue his estate for the balance of this loan?
Optional Information: State/Country relating to question: New York Already Tried: Nothing, except asking the person I made the loan to for payment several years ago. He always told me that when he sold some of his real estate, he would give me the balance, but he never did.
Thank you for posting your question to JA/Pearl. Legal questions often take time for research or I may be offline so please be patient, I will reply.Yes you can file with the surrogate court and also with the executor of the estate as a creditor. However, New York has a statute of limitations on debts of six years. Since the statute of limitations has expired, the estate does have an absolute defense to payment. Whether they will use that defense or not I cannot predict but you certainly have nothing to lose by requesting payment.
Experience: Attorney with experience in wills, estates and trusts
Can I ask a follow up question? The loan commenced on July, 2002, for a period of five years, giving the debtor until July of 2007 to complete payments. What date does the six years of statute of limitations commence from July 2002 or July 2007. If it were July 2007, I would have until July , 2013, correct? ,
The term of the loan was for five years, ending in July 2007. Is it possible that the statute of limitations could be six years from that date, giving me until July 2013 to file a claim?
The SOL starts when the account goes delinquent, not from the end date. Sorry.