About 10 years ago I bailed my daughter out of a hole to the tune of £5000. It might not sound a lot but it was to me. I swore I would never help her out financially again unless I was in a position to do so. She swore she would never ask.
And she hasn't, but she has asked her dad, my husband (for how much longer, I don't know) and he has drip fed her money over the years so she now owes him around the same amount. You know how it is - she needs new car tyres and will lose her job if she can't get to work, etc, etc. So he'll pay for them, she'll promise to pay him back, but doesn't, and so it goes on.
Last year, she was evicted from her rented house - it was not her fault, the landlord realized he could make a lot more money if he let out the house to students. When she found another rental property she had to find a guarantor. My husband stepped up even though I warned against it.
The house was damp and she's taking the landlord to court for compensation for her ruined furniture/clothes, etc. Everything is dragging on and now I've just realized that my husband will probably be liable for all the landlord's costs if she loses the court case. I'm off to the solicitor later to find out if my suspicions are correct - I strongly suspect they are. There's a sentence in the guarantor agreement that worries me - 'The guarantor will be liable for unpaid rent and any other costs'
We won't be able to afford to fight this so will have to sell our home if the worse comes to the worse. And I am so angry - with my daughter, my husband, the landlord, absolutely everybody and everything. I can feel a divorce coming on, too, because he just ignores my wishes every time to 'help our daughter out'.
NEVER agree to be a guarantor for anybody unless you can afford to deal with the consequences.
