Personal loan

[NoMercy]

Sometime in 2007, my ex's daughter and her new husband got into quite a lot of debt and were on the verge of having their home repo'd. My ex, in order to stop this happening, wrote out cheques to all their creditors, to the sum of 54k. He told his daughter and son-in-law that they could pay him back when they sold their house. His daughter died very suddenly this xmas just gone, and when my ex raised the subject of the 54k with his son-in-law, the slimy SOB said as far as he was concerned, it was a gift!
My ex did not draw up a legal contract, but still has all the cheque stubs/bank statements. He also has plenty of witnesses who will testify to the fact that it was a loan (put mildly, his son-in-law is not the most popular person on the planet). How does my ex fare legally if this gets to court?
His solicitor has advised that he can get a charge/caution placed on his son-in-law's house which will be logged with the land registery, and will prevent his selling the property until the dispute is settled in court. The thing I want to know is, what chance does my ex have of a successful outcome in court.
Many thanks..........

[themas]

His solicitor should have advised him on this. From what you say, the witnesses evidence could be important. If they are truly independent and can testify that it definitely was a loan then the outcome should be satisfactory. However, the only way to find out for certain is for him to issue a Court claim. This is quite a lot of money & he may have to pay a solicitor to act for him.

[NoMercy]

Thank you for your reply. My Ex has a solicitor in Redditch whom is awaiting instructions to proceed with the recovery of this debt. I guess it's a 50-50 whether or not he will achieve a satisfactory outcome!

Thanks again.