Lending money to family always feels straightforward at the start. You trust the person you want to help, and you assume the loan will come back without any drama. That confidence fades fast when things take a turn. Maybe you loaned your sister 10,000 dollars so she could finally get a car. Maybe she totaled it within a week, stopped responding, and eventually blocked your number like none of it ever happened. Suddenly, you’re carrying the stress while she disappears. When you go from supportive sibling to unpaid lender, the situation becomes confusing fast, and you start wondering what real options you have.