Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Massachusetts
Purchase & Sale Agreement
My husband sold our marital home to his brother. Aside from the legality of the sale, I'd like to know if the purchase & sale agreement is legal. It was hand written and signed by both parties on a particular date. There was no real estate agent or attorney involved. The agreement does not appear to have been notorized or witnessed by anyone other than the buyer and seller. I suspect that the date indicated on the document is false and the document was drawn up several days later. Is this document legal?
3 Answers from Attorneys
: Purchase & Sale Agreement
The document if properly done is valid. However, if this is marital property it places you at a disadvantage.
Re: Purchase & Sale Agreement
While there is a requirement in Massachusetts that contracts for the sale of land must be in writing in order to be enforceable, there is no requirement that the parties to a land sale hire real estate brokers or hire attorneys.
So long as the Purchase and Sale contains all the necessary and material terms of the agreement of the parties (how much, when, conditions, description of the property, etc.), then the contract is valid, subject to the various available contract defenses.
It would seem that you are actually asking a larger question, which is "what are my rights with respect to the home?". You should contact an attorney to discuss matters further.
Re: Purchase & Sale Agreement
It does not appear that the circumstances you describe, in and of themselves, would invalidate the P&S on its face. However, surrounding circumstances could render the deal unenforceable for various reasons, such as, it was an unauthorized sale of marital property, the sale was for insufficient value, the P&S is a sham document designed to effectuate a fraud, etc.
Only through detailed additional analysis can an intelligent assessment be made and opinion be given as to the possible defenses available to the enforceability of the P&S, or the likelihood of succeeding on invalidating the deal. Contact me directly to explore these issues further.