My Friend Needs Money, But I'm Concerned I Won't Get Paid When They Die. What Can I Do?
Sometimes, we are placed in a difficult position to decide to help a friend and risk losing a lot of money, or allowing a friend to suffer great detriment if we do not help.
It's always a risk to lend money to someone, and just as with lending money to any other person, you should obtain some sort of security to ensure that you can get paid back later.
It's important to remember that if you intend to handle this formally by obtaining security, this should be done as formally as you would with a formal business transaction--because it is!
While you and your friend may whole-heartedly intend to abide by an informal agreement, it might not be you or your friend litigating the matter five years later--and it will be left up to attorneys to try to understand what happened and how best to resolve the dispute. It could also be that you or your friend forget some of the specifics of the transaction five years later.
This is true of any transaction--it's best practice to document what occurs properly and to have formal, written agreements outlining the terms of the arrangement.
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