Am I obligated to sign a new listing agreement with my agent?

Your listing agreement is actually with the broker, not the agent.  So when the agent leaves that brokerage and goes to another brokerage, then that agent no longer represents you. If you want to continue to work with your agent, then you will need to have the first broker cancel the listing agreement before signing a new listing agreement with the second broker.  Do not have two active listing agreement because then you will owe two commissions. You are not obligated to renew your listing agreement if you decide not to sell the home.  Even if you don't want to sell during the listing agreement, you can tell your agent to take the property off the market.

Q1: No. Q2: Yes. One year is a long time for a listing agreement. 6 months is more typical. Agents sometimes can be negotiated down to 90 days or 120 days. There are many brokers and agents chasing not so many listings. If your first choice insists on a longer term than you are comfortable with, then go with your second or third choice, the one who will go along with 6 months or less. Since your relationship was with the agent, and the agent has left, the broker might be willing to cancel the listing. It's worth asking. An honest broker will agree to cancel the listing, especially if you take the property off the market. If you appreciate this free advice, please remember to refer me to any friends or acquaintances who need a lawyer. Referrals are still our best source of new business. Do you have a revocable living trust to protect your heirs against probate? Probate takes forever, is expensive, and is annoying. Do your family a favor. Set up a trust, and put all your property, especially any real property, into the trust. Since it is revocable, you can change it, add to it, take property out of it, or even cancel it completely, at any time. We set up such trusts, provide a pour-over will as a back-up for any property that does not make it into the trust, provide you with blank durable powers of attorney for health care and financial decisions, in case you become incapable of making such decisions while still alive, and convey one piece of real property to the trust, usually the family home, for $1500.00. If you would like to hire me to do this, let me know, and I'll send you a list of the information I need. Dana Sack