Case Description

Li and Zhao are business partners and often have some business dealings on a daily basis. In 2018, Li borrowed 100000 yuan from Zhao for capital turnover and issued a "IOU" to Zhao. The content of the IOU was very simple, only stating that Li owed Zhao 100000 yuan. In 2022, Zhao failed to urge Li and sued the court for immediate repayment. However, Li cleverly argued that 100000 yuan was a payment owed to Zhao before, and now that the statute of limitations has passed, Zhao's request should not be supported.

Lawyer Analysis

This case is a typical case of legal risk caused by non-standard IOUs. IOUs are very common in daily life. This article will introduce how to write a standardized IOU to avoid legal risks.

1、 It's an IOU, not an IOU

People often confuse IOUs and IOUs. However, in practice, there is a difference between the two. An IOU must be a debt, while an IOU may not necessarily be a loan. It may be a payment in arrears, compensation, or other unpaid amounts. In the promissory note, if there is no agreed repayment period, the other party can be urged to repay the money within a reasonable period at any time. Due to the fact that the creditor was aware of the infringement of their rights when the debtor issued the promissory note, they generally need to file a lawsuit within three years of the date of issuance of the promissory note. If the deadline for filing a lawsuit exceeds, it may no longer receive court support.

2、 Write clearly the borrower and lender

In practice, there are cases where the holder of a promissory note is not the actual lender, and the person issuing the promissory note may not be the actual borrower. Therefore, in order to avoid disputes in the future, the lender's and borrower's names, ID card numbers, addresses, contact information and other specific information should be clearly stated in the IOU. If the borrower is married, it is recommended to list their spouse as the borrower. In addition, in order to avoid the court's difficulty in determining the delivery address in case of disputes, which may prolong the litigation period, it is recommended to indicate which address is the legal delivery address in the personal information section. And attach a copy of the borrower's ID card as an attachment to the debit note.

3、 Write clearly the purpose of the loan

According to legal regulations, in specific circumstances, loan contracts may be considered invalid. For example, if the lender knew or should have known that the borrower's loan was used for illegal or criminal activities and still provided the loan, the loan contract is invalid. Therefore, when borrowing, the purpose of the loan should be clearly stated. In addition, if the purpose of the loan is to be used for the joint living of the couple, it is beneficial for the couple to jointly repay the debt in case of inability to repay.

4、 Write down the payment method for the payment

In the lawsuit, in addition to providing a promissory note to prove that both parties have reached an agreement on the loan, it is also necessary to prove that the actual delivery of the money has been completed. Therefore, it is recommended to specify the payment method of the loan in the promissory note. It is recommended to agree to use bank transfer and specify the account number, as the transfer records can reflect the transaction records of the money. If it is indeed necessary to use the method of delivering cash, it is recommended to indicate that the cash has actually been delivered on the day of issuing the debit note, and the borrower has actually received the lender's cash.

5、 Loan amount

The loan amount should be accurately stated. Due to the risk of being easily modified in lowercase amounts, it is generally important to note the amount in uppercase in practice. Also indicate the currency of the loan.

6、 Interest and overdue interest

Borrowing can have interest or no interest. If there is interest, the standard for interest should be clearly stated. It is recommended to agree on overdue interest. Once the borrower fails to repay the money, the lender can demand payment of overdue interest during the default period in accordance with the overdue interest stipulated in the loan agreement. It should be noted that interest and overdue interest should be within the statutory standard range, which should not exceed four times the market quoted interest rate for one-year loans at the time of contract establishment.

7、 Loan term

The loan term is related to the statute of limitations for litigation. If the loan term is specified, the general statute of limitations for litigation is within three years from the date of expiration of the loan term. If the statute of limitations for litigation is not specified, the other party can be urged to repay the money within a reasonable period at any time, and the statute of limitations for litigation shall be three years from the date of expiration of the reasonable period. If the borrower fails to repay the loan, the lender needs to pay attention to timely filing a lawsuit within the statute of limitations.

8、 Sign and press the fingerprint

The borrower must personally sign the loan receipt, and the name must match the name on the ID card. It cannot be written as a nickname or homophone. To prevent borrowers from arguing that they did not sign in person, it is recommended to press a fingerprint on the signature.