Promissory Note Guides
105 articles in this category
What a Promissory Note Actually Does for You in Court
You have a signed promissory note and a borrower who stopped paying. You are thinking about taking legal action and wondering whether the document in your hand is actually going to do anything useful once you get in front of a judge. The answer depends on what the note contains and how you present it, but a well-drafted promissory note is one of the strongest pieces of evidence you can bring to a debt dispute. Here is exactly what a promissory note does for you in a courtroom...
How to Record Payments on a Promissory Note
Here is how to track payments on a promissory note properly from the first installment to the last...
How to Properly Loan Money to Your Child for a House Down Payment
Helping your child buy a home is one of the more meaningful financial gifts a parent can give. But when the help comes in the form of a loan rather than a gift, the way you document it matters more than most families realize. A handshake arrangement between parents and children sounds fine until a divorce, a bankruptcy, a sibling dispute, or a mortgage application reveals exactly how much trouble an undocumented family loan can create...
What to Include in a Promissory Note for a Personal Loan
Here is exactly what a promissory note for a personal loan needs to include, and why each piece matters...
Promissory Notes and the SBA: What Borrowers Need to Know
If you have applied for an SBA loan, you have probably encountered a stack of paperwork that felt overwhelming. Buried somewhere in that stack is a promissory note, and while it may look like just another form to sign, it is one of the most important documents in the entire transaction. Understanding what you are agreeing to before you sign can save you from surprises down the road...
What to Do When a Promissory Note Is Lost or Destroyed
You kept a copy somewhere safe. At least, you thought you did. Now you need it and it is gone. Maybe it was lost in a move, destroyed in a flood, or simply misplaced over the years. Whatever the reason, discovering that a promissory note is missing is a stressful situation, but it is not necessarily...
Does a Promissory Note Need to Be Notarized?
It is one of the most common questions people have when putting a loan in writing: do you need to get a promissory note notarized before it is legally valid? The short answer is...
How to Collect on an Unpaid Promissory Note
You did everything right. You put the loan in writing, got it signed, and kept a copy. Now the due date has come and gone, and the borrower has gone quiet. So what do you do when someone does not pay back a promissory note?
What Is a Promissory Note? (And When You Actually Need One)
You've probably heard the term before, maybe in a legal drama or when a friend asked you to "put it in writing" before lending them money. But what exactly is a promissory note, and when do you actually need one?