Does a private loan agreement eventually expire?

[Dreamtopping]

Hi, my ex and I took out a private loan agreement a number of years ago from the proceeds of sale from our house. My ex lent me almost 15 k.
The loan was drawn up by a Solicitor, but there was no date put on the paperwork for when I was to pay back the money.

As I've been substantially underpaid child support over the years, my ex has agreed to forget about the loan, but a quick Google check appears to say that loans expire after a certain period of time anyway, so I'm wondering if there's any point in us having the loan officially cancelled through a a Solicitor, as I don't want him to change his mind one day and decide to come after the money after all.

Put together a document for you and your ex to sign stating that you agree that £15k (or whatever figure) which he acknowledges he owes you in unpaid child support has been set off against, and satisfied in full, any obligation of yours to repay the principal and any interest on the £15k loaned to you on [date]. Best also to say that this does not affect any obligation he has to pay child support after that date. Email a scanned copy of that document to yourself (as proof of the date it was signed) and keep an original copy.

No, loans don’t just expire.

You need a signed agreement.

Good idea, only I'm just wondering if it should be done properly through a Solicitor, seeing as the original loan document is with a Solicitor still?
I'm just wary that a home made document could be something my ex could 'get out off' and deny he'd signed it if he decided to.

That's what I was thinking, but I'm confused as to why it says loan agreements expire after so many years if no attempt has been made to pay the debt back?

I'm so confused with it all!

How long ago? Limitation on a basic loan is typically 6 years.

It’s 6 years since last contact with the lender to become statute barred - AKA the lender can’t take legal action to recover it.

nationaldebtline.org/get-information/guides/statute-barred-debts-ew/

A loan does not expire. The limitation period means that, if you don't make any payments towards the debt or acknowledge the debt for 6 years, your ex can no longer take legal action to recover it. However, even after the limitation period the debt still exists. There is just no easy way for it to be collected.

And given you have been/are in discussions to set off the loan against his arrears, that resets the clock so the 6 year period starts again.

You could do it through a solicitor or you could get him to sign it in your presence with a witness - if you really don’t trust him immediately email a scanned copy of the document to him and yourself saying “Copy of the document we signed today attached, confirming I no longer owe anything under the loan as your arrears up to today have been set against it”.

I think a loan will be uncollectible if the creditor and debtor have had no contact for six years.

But you and your ex presumably have had contact within that time frame. Though if there was no time limit on paying it back you could arguably do it very very slowly.

Get whatever you need signed by him and witnessed by 2 other people, preferable not family, make sure it’s dated as well as that may help if needed in the future. Yes Solicitors can do this, but obviously they will charge.

Does that stand for a loan that's been drawn up by a Solicitor even ?
The debt has gone past the limitation time frame, so would it somehow still be possible for my ex to try and have it repaid, even if he couldn't legally make me pay it?

Didn’t you post a thread on this quite recently, in which I and others advised that (1) loan agreements don’t expire (2) the loan is repayable on demand and (3) you cannot waive a right to child maintenance in return for waiving a loan unless this is formalised by the court sealing a consent order?

Limitation doesn’t start to run on a loan until a demand for repayment has been made, or a repayment date has been missed (which doesn’t apply here as there is no fixed date for repayment). A loan agreement does not simply expire after 6 years

Seek proper legal advice. You need clear information. As the loan agreement was drawn up by a solicitor, then you need to have any further agreements drawn up by a solicitor. You may not be able to legally off-set the money against child maintenance. I don't know.

@Elektra1 you appear to have misread my post as I didn't say limitation ran from inception. As I said, generally limitation is 6 years. There isn't sufficient info to properly advise.

Yes it was me, and I was very grateful for the responses, including from yourself.

The reason I decided to re post was because I've now learnt that there can be an expiry date with loans, if it's outside a limitation period. I wasn't sure whether to go to my old post or not, but thought I'd do a new one.

The child maintenance issue is something we've agreed to do separately, and ex has still agreed to squash the loan agreement. Now it seems that the limitation period passes after a demand for repayment has been made, and does not run from when the loan is taken out.
So basically, my ex could make a demand for either full payment of the loan, or part payment, next year for instance, and the loan only expires should six years pass without any attempt from me to make even one payment, if I'm understanding this correctly?
Thanks for the advice all.

Reality is op wants to know whether there's any comeback. Section 5 limitation specified here in6 years from cause of action.

At common law, where no time for repayment is specified in a contract of loan, or where the loan was expressed simply to be repayable 'on demand', the lender’s cause of action in general accrued when the loan was made and time began to run from that moment. See case law: Garden v Bruce;

Notwithstanding the above, as I said this may not apply here as we simply don't have sufficient information.

It sounds like you have acknowledged the debt more recently than 6 years, is that right?

No the loan was taken out way more than six years ago, all I did was sign it at the time with two witnesses, and it was filed away with a Solicitor. Nothing has been mentioned of it since, except now my ex and I want to come to an agreement with each other, and part of that is that he will squash the loan, I just want it in writing that the loan is void.

Yes, but that conversation itself is acknowledgement that the loan still exists.

Even though we've never spoken of it for years?
Oh God I'd never make a lawyer!

I'm not a lawyer. Maybe you'd have to acknowledge it in writing. But it doesn't sound like you are trying to avoid it, just to offset it against what he owes you.

How long ago was the loan taken and paperwork signed? In all that time have you never once tried to repay any of it?