Hi there. It sounds like you are in a difficult position. You may have a legal claim against your family member if you can establish that you both entered a legal contract regarding the loan of the money. A contract can exist orally and still have the same legal effect as a written one.

A contract will only exist if the parties agreed to create legal relations. This means the parties need to be serious about entering the contract such that one party will sue the other party if they fail to perform their side of the bargain. Based on the information you provided, it is not clear whether you and your family member intended to create a legally binding contract. Any written evidence showing that you intended to create a contract will strengthen your case. However, without this evidence and given the fact that you are two family members, your claim may be weakened.

Whether you can access the money used in your family member’s business will depend on how she has structured her business. If the business has been incorporated and operates as a company, then its assets are independent of your family member. This means that, even though she is the sole owner of the company, you cannot access the company’s money. However, if your family member is a sole trader and the business has not been incorporated, then there is effectively no separation between her personal assets and the business’ assets. This means that any claim you have against her could be paid out from the money she uses in her business.