My sister borrowed money from me 8 months ago and we agreed via chat that she'd pay me back 500,000 pesos in installments. Now she's saying she can't pay anymore and wants me to forgive the debt. Do I have the right to demand that she pay me back with interest for all this time I've been waiting?
Legally yeah, you can charge interest if you agreed on it in writing or have a record of the agreement (a chat counts), but here's where something more complicated than the law comes into play: it's your sister. If you push her for interest and she's already saying she can't pay the base amount, odds are it'll turn into a family fight and you'll never get anything back. My advice is to sit down with her, make it clear how things stand (you need that money) and work out something realistic: maybe less than what you agreed on but something she can actually pay back, without the extra interest. Honestly, taking a family member to court almost never pays off.
Don't start threatening her with interest if what you're trying to do is get some of that money back. The reality is that if she can't pay now, she's gonna be even less able to if you hit her with legal pressure or aggressive demands. What makes sense here is to drop the drama and make her an offer: ask if she can pay you back whatever amount in longer installments, even if it's small, and work out something in writing right now (a message in the chat where you both confirm how much is left, when she pays, and done). Sometimes people respond better when they feel like you're giving them an actual way out instead of obligations they can't meet.
Chat works as a document, so legally you've got ground to stand on. But here's the thing - you gotta separate what's legal from what you're actually gonna be able to collect: if you push hard on interest and lawyers, she's gonna dig in her heels and you won't recover even the original 500k. Better strategy is to negotiate an actual payment plan with no interest, but in writing this time (a WhatsApp counts), where she commits to paying you back X amount each month even if it's small. That gives you certainty you'll get paid, keeps the relationship from falling apart, and plus if she defaults later, you've got proof of what you both agreed to - then you can bring in a lawyer if you want, but that's a last resort.
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