Q: How to get monies loaned back?

A: You can take him to small claims court all on your own, you can contact the clerk of the court in the county where you live and they will provide or direct you to the paperwork that you need to file. In addition, the small claims limited starting this year have been raised to $8,000, so you also still fall under this category for filing purposes, in addition, this is exclusive of court costs and attorney fees, so if you want to get an attorney you can do that as well. The real problem is this, if they cannot or are not paying you, getting a judgment is no guarantee that you can or will be able to collect the sums you are now owed according to the court if you win, if they have nothing, they have nothing, the good news is that you have a judgment and you can pursue various options for collections as a result of having such a judgment. The question is, is it worth throwing good money after bad, if they have assets or things you can attach (not their homestead), then you can get something maybe, the additional good news is that you can hold this over them for 10 years and then renew it for 10 more years, again, is it worth trying to pursue. Maybe you can attach and take back the car or even try to garnish their wages or attach other property or accounts, but that is basically your starting point. In small claims court, a do it yourself option may be the one you want to try to pursue.