QUESTION
I need a lawyer for potential Promissory Estoppel case and I don't know what kind of lawyer I need.
Asked on Mar 28th, 2019 on Breach of Contract - Pennsylvania
More details to this question:
I was living with and taking care of my grandparents. When my grandmother finally passed, my grandfather decided to sell the house and move in with his daughter. I had an agreement with my grandfather for an amount of money equal to 1/3 the final closing cost of the house when it sold, with him also receiving 1/3 and my aunt receiving 1/3. Every financial decision I made for my son and I past that for the last 6 months has been with that end goal in mind, knowing we would get that money, and be able to move and establish our own home. Then my grandfather passed away in February. My aunt, being the Executor of the estate, accepted a price on the house approximately a week after he passed. She never told me it even sold. After the closing, I found out about it, contacted her and she is telling me she's not giving me anything. A Legal student told me I should contact a lawyer as this sounds like something called Promissory Estoppel. After looking that up, I agree. What kind of lawyer?
1 ANSWER
You have a claim for breach of contract, and should probably seek out an attorney who's experienced in dealing with esate matters. Promissory estippel can create a contract in the absence of consideration (normally a requrement to create an enforceable contract). It sounds as if you provided consideration by taking care of your grandfather in exchange for a promise of 1/3 of the proceeds of the house, but if consideration is a problem, promissory estippel may get you past that hurdle if you can show that you detrimentally relied on your grandfather's promise, but you have other problems. Depending on the totality of circumstances here, unless you have proof of the ocntract other than your own testimony, you will probably have problems with the dead man's statute (which prohbitis an interested party from testifying to a transaction they had with a now deceased person, because the decedent is not able to rebut it) as well as the Statute of Frauds (which requires that certain types of contracts be in writing to be enforceable).
Answered on Mar 29th, 2019 at 7:27 AM