Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Louisiana
Is verbal agreement valid to split inheritance?
My father recently passed away with an estate quite large. Approx 2-3 years ago,anticipating an unequal distribution of the estate to the children, a verbal agreement was reached by 3 of the children that whatever was inherited by the 3 would be thrown into the pot so the speak and divided equally among the 3. Since my father's death, one of the siblings who will inherit approx a million dollars in cash, and property has now decided he will not honor his verbal agreement. My other sibling has agreed to be a witness for me that such an agreement was made, should i take legal action. This would be a regretable course of action albeit a probable one. My question...Is a verbal agreement binding and if so would i have a claim against the cash and the immovable property? We are all over the age of 23.There is also a fifth wife involved but that is another question! Thanks
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Is verbal agreement valid to split inheritance?
Dear LawGuru Friend,
You really have not given enough information for a good answer. However, based on what you have given, it looks like the three of you would have inherited equally and there is no need to enforce any agreement. Now if your father left a will favoring one of the three over the other two, then the agreement among you three children would be someting to consider. Assuming your father did leave a will favoring the one brother you refer to, then you might seek to have the verbal agreeement enforced so that all three of you would be treated equally; however, I cannot see how any such agreement would be enforceable, unless there was something bargained for and given in exchange for such agreement. Just a discussion among the three of you, I do not think would be sufficient to constitute a binding contract. Of course, verbal agreements can be enforceable, but they have to be more that just meetings of the mind; they have to be based on a valid cause, a valid consideration; and something has to be bargained for and given in exchange for something else in order for there to be a binding agreement, a contract. As I say, to give a better answer, I would have to have more information than you posted in your question. There is more to it all than this, but this is something to think about. Feel free to call me if you want to discuss this matter further. My phone number is (337) 478-6126. Best of luck!
Sincerely,
Hardy Parkerson, Atty.
Lake Charles, LA
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