Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Massachusetts

Re: contracts

Was the contract ever signed? By all parties? If SOME but NOT ALL parties have signed the contract, which have signed it, and which have not? The answer may depend upon who has/has not signed.

Usually, accepting money pursuant to an agreement indicates an act of acceptance (or partial acceptance) of the agreement. However, you say the contract is "supposed to be for a lifetime." Although I don't know exactly what you mean, if the contract cannot be fully performed within one year (i,e., it is for a "lifetime"), the Massachusetts "Statute of Frauds" aapplies, GL ch. 259, s 1-7, and the contract is only enforceable if it is a WRITTEN contract, signed by the party against whom enforcement is sought (e.g., if a party seeks to enforce the contract against you, but you have not signed it, the contract MAY not be enforceable against you).

There are some exceptions to the general rule, and I would need to know more to definitively to your question.