Contract in Writing Required in Some Cases Statute of Frauds – Contracts That Need to Be In Writing to be Enforceable - Categories M arriage – so many promises made, to enforce the term(s) must be in writing to assure existence and scope. Y ear – contracts over one year need to be in writing (if not clear, law presumes ‘under one year’). L and – sale, long-term rental, easement, etc., in land need to be in writing. E xecutors – promises between executor and future recipient require a writing to prevent fraud. G oods – sales of goods of $500 or more; or contractual modifications that push value to $500 or more. S ureties – promises by secondary party to be responsible for payment of another’s debt must be written. Some states add extra forms that require a writing, e.g., in Florida, subscriptions for newspapers must be in writing (no doubt in response to too much fraud in this kind of situation). Inability to enforce an unwritten agreement does not necessarily deny some form of recovery – courts can imply a contract or craft a remedy to avoid injustice. Not truly and “element” of formation, but a defense (others follow) This does to the ability to enforce a “contract,” not necessarily to whether an agreement has been formed. This mnemonic device for the Statute of Frauds is of course the origin of the website’s name: www.mylegs.org © 2018 Paul J. Carrier, Paul J Carrier, LLC Blue – Category Recognition; White – Specific Category; Yellow – “Black Letter” Rules (to be memorized); Green – Main Factual Issues – Analysis; Red – Upper-Level, Integrated Comprehension