Rules to Follow When Lending Money to Friends andFamily

 

借钱给家人和朋友的法则

 

Always Put the Loan in Writing

 

借款须有书面记录

 

Memories fade, priorities get shifted and clashing opinions over what you originally agreed to can cause problems between friends or family, says Priyanka Prakash, a finance specialist at Fit Small Business and a former business attorney.

 

普里扬卡•普拉卡什现任Fit Small Business的融资专家，也曾是一名商业律师，她表示，记忆退化、重心转移及对原先共识产生分歧都可能为自己和朋友或亲人间造成困扰。

 

Another benefit to having the amount and conditions in writing: Drawing up an official loan document makes it more likely that the borrower will take the loan seriously and pay it back on time. “So if you miss a payment, this is the piece of paper that we’ll look at that’ll help us to decide what to do, so it moves the friendship out of the way,” adds Ellis.

 

借款金额和条件有书面记录的另外一个好处是：制定正式借款文件会使借款人更认真对待此事并增加按时还钱的机率。埃利斯补充道：“如果没有收到还款，我们可以根据借款文件行事，这时候就得把友谊放在另外一边了。”

 

When registered nurse Lisa Schloeder, 49, decided to help a colleague enroll in a nursing assistant program, she wanted the $1,500 loan agreement on paper. “I saw this woman at the office every day, but I still thought it was best to put everything in writing to make sure we both understood what we were getting into,” remembers Schloeder.

 

49岁的注册护士丽莎•施勒德在帮同事报名参加护理员项目时，就把借给同事的1500美元报名费制成纸质借款协议。施勒德表示，“虽然我天天在医院工作都能看见她，但是我觉得最好还是把各种细节都记录下来，做到有章可循，这样就能确保我们两个人都明白应该做什么。”

 

Her foresight paid off. “There was a check waiting for me every two weeks as we had agreed, and I felt great seeing what an amazing nursing assistant she became for our practice,” she says.

 

她的远见颇有成效。她说，“就和我们当初说好的那样，把借款分成几份偿还，她每两周就会给我支票。当看到她因为这段时间的护理实践，变成一个了不起的护理员时，我不知道有多高兴呢”。

 

You can draft a simple personal loan agreement without hiring an attorney, Prakash says. But more complex deals—for example,if they involve collateral or involve more than $10,000—may require a lawyer to be involved.

 

普拉卡什认为，个人借款可以不用请律师，只需起草一份简单的借款协议即可。但是如果是比较复杂的交易，比如涉及抵押品或者金额超过一万美元时，最好还是请个律师。

 

Ideally, a loan agreement should be dated and state the loan amount, due date for paying it back in full, the payment schedule and any agreed-upon late payment fee （see Rule 5）or interest. Full contact information for the loaner and borrower and both of your signatures, either handwritten or electronic, are important,says Prakash.

 

普拉卡什表示，一份理想的借款协议应注明日期和借款金额，债务人全额还清借款的期限，还款计划以及协商好的滞纳金（详见法则5）或利息。债权人和债务人的完整联系方式，双方的签字（手写或电子版）都十分重要。

 

If loaners need help pulling a formal document together, they can opt to search online for a promissory note template, which states the promise to pay someone back and can help ensure that all the important details are covered. In most states a promissory note just needs to be signed by the borrower to be valid, but it’s better if you sign, too, so that the intent of both parties is clear should you have to go to court,Prakash says.

 

如果债权人在起草正式文件时需要帮助，可以到网上搜索借据模板，模板注有债务人保证归还债款的承诺，并确保所有的重要细节都包含在内。在多数州内，借据只要有债务人的签字即为有效，但是债权人最好也在其上签字，这样双方的意向都很明确，即使有天不得不走上法庭，也有白纸黑字的证据。