Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Mississippi

Is an Oral Agreement Legally Binding and Is There a Statute of Limitations

Years ago my husband and his friend looked after an elderly man for man years. He had a brother, but they weren't close. There was no one else but my husband and this friend. We fed the man and took him to the dr., etc. When he was ill, he had an agreement between my husband and this friend that he would leave his place, a large amount of acreage and a house, to the friend with the understanding that he would split everything evenly with my husband. He did this because he knew his brother would fight the will and my husband would testify for the friend in court. It happened just that way. They went to court and my husband testified that the elderly man was in his right mind when he left everything to this friend. That was approximately 12 years ago. After court, we haven't heard from the friend. He kept everything for himself. Recently, he sold everything for a tremendous amount of money. My husband has tried to forget about it, but I want to know if we have any legal recourse. If you say not, then I will drop it.I know of at least one person who knew about the agreement. Unfortunately, it is the friend's father-in-law. I'm not sure he would testify. If we have a case, I will try to find out if there is anyone else. Thanks.


Asked on 6/24/06, 9:46 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Austin Nimocks Austin R. Nimocks & Associates, P.L.L.C.

Re: Is an Oral Agreement Legally Binding and Is There a Statute of Limitations

Oral agreements (aka parole agreements) are generally not binding when it comes to real property (e.g., land). Thus, if the thrust of the agreement involved land and/or a home, I don't believe that you have any recourse. However, none of that may be relevant if the breached agreement at issue was breached more than 3 years ago. In Mississippi, the general statute of limitations is 3 years, but there are other statutes of limitation for different periods of time (some less, some more) for different types of things which may be more applicable. Unfortunately, given my lack of expertise in this area, this is the best advice that I can offer, but am hopeful that it helps.

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Answered on 6/25/06, 9:21 pm


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