When Lending Money to Family and Friends, Treat It Like a Bank Loan
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Access to affordable credit helps me pay my employees, but I don't really need it. Inflation is killing me. But who cares? Big retailers are making record profits. That's why we support the Durbin Marshall credit card bill. See? Banks and credit unions help small businesses make payroll. This bill would cut the vital resources they need. While increasing megastore profits. They deserve it, don't they? Tell Congress, stop the Durbin Marshall money grab for corporate megastores. Paid for by the Electronic Payments Coalition.
Here's your Money Briefing for Monday, October 28th. I'm Arianna Espuru for The Wall Street Journal, filling in for J.R.
How should you frame lending to family: loan or gift?
Whelan. It might be the elephant in the room as the holidays come around. The money you lent your cousin, uncle, or BFF that they haven't paid back yet. Is there a better approach to this awkward situation? One strategy? Act like a bank.
It's super, super important. Instead of just saying, listen, my relatives who I know and I love and I want to be on solid financial footing, here's some money and hopefully you'll pay me back. Hope is not a strategy. It's very important that they have in writing what the payment plan is going to be.
Jonathan Shankman is the president and chief investment officer of Park Bridge Wealth Management. He joins me after the break.
Access to affordable credit helps me pay my employees, but I don't really need it. Infliction is killing me. But who cares? Big retailers are making record profits. That's why we support the Durbin Marshall credit card bill. See? Banks and credit unions help small businesses make payroll. This bill would cut the vital resources they need. While increasing megastore profits. They deserve it, don't they? Tell Congress, stop the Durbin Marshall money grab for corporate megastores. Paid for by the Electronic Payments Coalition.
What's the best way to lend money to someone you care about? Turns out you might have to start acting like a bank. Jonathan Shankman is the president and chief investment officer of Park Bridge Wealth Management. He recently wrote a piece for The Wall Street Journal about lending money.
What written terms should a private loan to a relative include?
Jonathan, lending money to friends and family can be sticky and it can be awkward. What are some struggles people face when lending money?
Well, the biggest thing is, and what makes it so messy, is people don't often know, is it an actual loan or is it a gift? And that's the one big component, because when you're lending to a family compared to a professional relationship, those lines could easily be blurred. And also, it's just the family dynamic component of it. Is it gonna ruin your relationship if you see the person who lent money from you going on nice vacations, leasing a new car, going out to eat? Is that gonna put some type of strain on the relationship? So those type of personal connections... And the blur between a professional loan and whether it's a gift or not are two things that really get in the way of lending money to family.
What groundwork should someone lending money put down to help them later on with those tough situations?
It makes sense to have an official contract in place that could closely mirror an actual loan at a financial institution. And this includes having the terms of the loan, having a timeframe on when people are going to get paid back. It should have the interest rate. If the person doesn't end up paying you back, what type of recourse does the lender have to make them whole? And also, I would have an independent attorney draft a contract just to help keep things professional and keep people honest on both sides.
You mentioned a few things there that I want to touch on, but interest rates, like how do you start setting rules like this with someone who is your best friend or a cousin or an uncle or something?
you have to go to the IRS to see what they permit. And there's something called the applicable federal rates or AFRs as they're known. And that's what the IRS sets and it comes out on a monthly basis for private loans, for example, between family members.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:41
2
How should you frame lending to family: loan or gift?
0:41–2:28
3
What written terms should a private loan to a relative include?
2:28–4:44
4
How do applicable federal rates (AFRs) affect family loans?
4:44–7:22
5
What repayment rules and documentation help avoid misunderstandings?
7:22–8:33
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from WSJ Your Money Briefing
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