Parents borrowed a lot of money and now claim they don't know what I'm talking about.

So by parents I really mean my mother, but basically my parents decided to move almost a year ago, but couldn't afford a lot of the costs upfront. I was making good money at the time and spent a lot helping them move and supporting them during this time, about $8,000. They have been staying with relatives and currently have well over $200k sitting in a bank account. I recently had to leave my job due to health reasons, so I asked for this money back now that they have it. My father has no problem paying me back, but my mother is claiming no responsibility, and doesn't want to pay. I would just have my father give me the money, but I honestly don't see their marriage lasting much longer and obviously this would look bad to the courts. Just hard to understand how someone this close to you can try to screw you over this bad.