Summary
holding that, to be enforceable, a purported agreement to settle an estate "must contain the elements of a valid contract," and affirming district court's decision not to enforce an agreement because the parties did not enter into a valid contract
Summary of this case from In re Estate of KukowskiOpinion
No. 45949.
May 7, 1976.
Specific performance — alleged contract among heirs to dispose, of property — enforceability.
Action in the Marshall County District Court brought by an heir and devisee of Arthur Swan, deceased, to enforce an alleged agreement concerning disposition of the estate. Vernon Swan, individually and as representative of the estate, and other heirs and devisees were named as defendants. After adverse findings, Warren A. Saetre, Judge, plaintiff appealed from the judgment entered. Affirmed.
Gault, MacKenzie, Gustafson Litynski and Warren E. Litynski, for appellant.
Erickson, Erie Odland and Leonard A. Erickson, for respondents Joyce Knutson and others.
Considered and decided by the court without oral argument.
This appeal centers around an unfortunate family dispute involving the distribution of the family farm upon the father's death. The father left a will providing that his estate be divided equally among his nine children. In an effort to keep the farm in the family, the members of the family entered into a purported contract to control the disposition of the property, the enforcement of which is the purpose of this action.
The able trial court denied specific enforcement, holding that the agreement was unenforceable, null, and void.
Settlement of an estate by agreement of all heirs is generally favored, and the right of the heirs to agree among themselves to alter the interest and amount to which they are entitled under the will is recognized in our new Uniform Probate Code. Minn. St. 524.3-912.
The agreement, however, must contain the elements of a valid contract. A review of the proceeding and a mere reading of the agreement convinces us that a valid and enforceable contract was not entered into by the parties, and the trial court's refusal to enforce the contract must be affirmed.
Affirmed.