Hi there. You may be able to sue your brother if you can establish that you both entered a legal contract regarding storage 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 limited information you provided, it does not appear that you and your brother intended to create a legally binding contract. This is because the agreement was oral (except for the text message), specific terms were not agreed, and the arrangement was between two family members. Based on this information, it appears that a contract was not formed between you and your brother. This means it is unlikely you can sue your brother for breach of contract.

Another legal option you may have is to sue your brother for breach of what is called ‘bailment’. A bailment arises when one person voluntarily and knowingly takes possession of property from another person. Here, your brother voluntarily took possession of your money into his bank account. If you can establish that you both agreed that he would look after the money until you asked for it back, then he may be at fault for not returning the money to you. You can sue him for failing to return the money. However, this legal claim may be difficult to prove unless you have sufficient evidence about the specific details of the arrangement you and your brother came to.