This estate application concerned whether residual beneficiaries made an enforceable oral agreement in or about 2009 to transfer estate land to one beneficiary, whose will later gifted the property to a family member.
The responding estate trustee denied any enforceable agreement and relied on s. 4 of the Statute of Frauds.
The court found an oral agreement existed based on cumulative direct and circumstantial evidence, including post-agreement conduct and contemporaneous documents.
The court held the agreement was enforceable through the doctrine of part performance, including waiver of an option over related estate land and longstanding tax payments referable to the disputed property.
Relief ordering transfer of the Bush Lot was granted, while claims for trustee removal, passing of accounts, and damages were adjourned sine die.
