Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
my twin sister died, my brother in law (his wife) promised to give me $100,000 of the $600,000 policy (once he received it) because he said his wife would want that and he felt it was the right thing to do so I could finish school. He repeated this over the course of four month. In addition on separate times he stated this to my older sister (in the present of her husband and older son. He also stated this to another sister of my independent of my older sister.
He wrote he a $4,000 dollar check when he received the life insurance policy and stated he would not give me anymore.
Do I have a basis for a breach of of verbal contract?
3 Answers from Attorneys
No. Simple oral promises of a gift are not enforceable. They are generally made to make someone 'shut up and go away' without an altercation. They are not the same as a negotiated settlement of a disputed claim.
Mr. Nelson is entirely correct. For most contracts each party has to give up something; that is needed not just out of fairness but also to prove that an agreement did exist. It would be easy for a husband and wife to claim that a relative promised to give them something and it would be two witnesses against one, so a large amount of fraud could occur. It does not appear you did anything in return for the promise. If you had gone to college with no means to pay so borrowed money in the belief he was going to give you some money, you might have a case, but you did not..
No. It is a gratuitous promise that lacks consideration.
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