Q: Can someone ask for their money back even after they said to "keep it" in writing?
Former friend had given me money to do his taxes for multiple years. He only provided me his 2019 info and while waiting for the rest of the years he had gotten into some trouble with the police and got arrested. I then decided to distance myself from him and his situation. My husband reached out told him to leave us alone and not to contact us again. The former friend then agreed and told us that the money was for us to keep and did not want it back. Two month later he is now wanting his money back. Do we need to give this money back? I do fear that he can just show up at my house and damage our personal belonging and harass us since he knows where we live. I rather just give him his money but my husband said no because the former friend said we can keep it. I do not want this to be dragged out to small claims court is this even possible since we have an actual text saying we can keep the money?
A:
Sometimes the legal answer isn't necessarily the right answer for your situation. Legally, I think you would be on good grounds to keep the money. Your former friend could certainly file a small claims action against you, but unless there is more to this story, I don't see a judge siding with him on this. That said, it requires time, if not money, to respond. And it sounds like you're dealing with someone possibly motivated by emotion.
The best way to cut ties with someone is to cut all the strings. If you want to be done with him, and this money is going to be an excuse for him to remain in your life, I'd suggest sending him the money back with a letter stating that there is now no reason for him to contact you and you don't want him to contact you ever again, and that if he does, you will pursue a personal protection order against him.
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