Q: An estate is trying to evict us. The owner died but we paid him a cash towards the property with verbal agreement.
We made a gentlemans agreement with the owner to rent to own his property. We paid him $25k for down payment and as a show of good faith he wrote us a quit claim for 2 trailers on the land. He passed and now the estate is trying to evict us with refusal of any funds, but the beneficiary (his brother and now owner) does not want to evict us.
A: Oral agreements on real estate are not binding. All contracts regarding real estate must be in writing. Sometimes, a writing can be found from things that aren’t thought of as writings, such as an email, receipt, or check. You need to review your specific facts including every written communication with a lawyer.
A:
The wording of your description of the circumstances is not clear. Contracts can be verbal or implied through action. Verbal contracts can be written or oral. A trailer may be personal property or it may be part of real estate if attached and the title is changed. An estate acts through the personal representation - either the executor or administrator.
If you dispute the personal representative's case against you, you should appear in court to defend yourself or file a case against the personal representative for the return of your money. Assuming you did not intend to make a gift, the transfer of $25,000 for nothing could mean you have a claim against the estate.
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