When I was a kid (I'm 29 now), my Dad was never a big part of my life. He and my Mother were separated a great majority of the time and he never made much effort to be a part of my life...despite the fact that I was a star baseball player who played all the way through college. He never even attended one of my games my entire life and I played every year from age 5 to 22. He was also the kind of guy who wasn't going to make any sacrifices for me. I am his only child. My parents divorced when I was 16.
We never had a bad relationship, but it was never great either. I think I always resented him a little and he resented me for it.
Not being the type to hold a grudge, I have always tried to put our differences aside and enjoy our relationship. I have always really wanted to have a good relationship with my Dad...and I think he has always felt the same way as long as it didn't require too much effort on his part.
My Dad has always been a blue collar guy who typically earned $40-50K/year. Well, several years ago, he married a woman who was 13 years younger than him. He was head-over-heels in love and his life revolved around her. He eventually took a job which paid less so he could spend more time with her. Shortly thereafter, they started having financial problems and couldn't pay their bills.
During this financial crisis, my Dad came to me and asked me for $3,000 to catch up on his mortgage. Wanting to be helpful and a good son, I loaned him the money; however, I did make it clear to him that it was a loan and that I had a hard time believing that he would be able to repay. He assured me that he would pay me back in full within 6 months.
He paid the mortgage company the $3K that I loaned him, but he never paid another dime to them b/c a short while later, his wife left him for a younger man. His home was foreclosed on.
Obviously, my Dad's life has gone from bad to worse. He has pretty much lost everything he owns from the recent divorce and he isn't trying to make things better. He just wants to sit around and be depressed b/c his wife left him. This has been going on for over a year now. He has bounced around from job to job.
It has now been 2 years since I loaned him the $3,000 and I have yet to see any of the money back. In fact, he has never even mentioned it since the day I loaned it to him.
How should I handle this? Should I just write him and the money off?
We never had a bad relationship, but it was never great either. I think I always resented him a little and he resented me for it.
Not being the type to hold a grudge, I have always tried to put our differences aside and enjoy our relationship. I have always really wanted to have a good relationship with my Dad...and I think he has always felt the same way as long as it didn't require too much effort on his part.
My Dad has always been a blue collar guy who typically earned $40-50K/year. Well, several years ago, he married a woman who was 13 years younger than him. He was head-over-heels in love and his life revolved around her. He eventually took a job which paid less so he could spend more time with her. Shortly thereafter, they started having financial problems and couldn't pay their bills.
During this financial crisis, my Dad came to me and asked me for $3,000 to catch up on his mortgage. Wanting to be helpful and a good son, I loaned him the money; however, I did make it clear to him that it was a loan and that I had a hard time believing that he would be able to repay. He assured me that he would pay me back in full within 6 months.
He paid the mortgage company the $3K that I loaned him, but he never paid another dime to them b/c a short while later, his wife left him for a younger man. His home was foreclosed on.
Obviously, my Dad's life has gone from bad to worse. He has pretty much lost everything he owns from the recent divorce and he isn't trying to make things better. He just wants to sit around and be depressed b/c his wife left him. This has been going on for over a year now. He has bounced around from job to job.
It has now been 2 years since I loaned him the $3,000 and I have yet to see any of the money back. In fact, he has never even mentioned it since the day I loaned it to him.
How should I handle this? Should I just write him and the money off?