Legal Question in Business Law in New York

A promise to make a gift is not in and of itself consideration. Consideration is something of value that you trade for something else, whereas a gift is unilateral. There is, however, a doctrine called promissory estoppel, whereby if someone makes you a promise, and you reasonably rely upon that promise, and suffer some detriment as a result, you can, in some instances, bind them to that promise. In short, it does not sound like you have a contract, but you may have a promissory estoppel claim if you can show that you reasonably relied to your detriment on the promise.