Oral or Written Agreements to Make a Will or Trust

Probate Code §21700 requires a post-2000 contract to make a will or devise, not to revoke a will or devise, or to die intestate to be established by one of three specified forms of writing or by clear and convincing evidence of an agreement or a promise between the decedent and the claimant, or between the decedent and another person for the benefit of the claimant, that is enforceable in equity.

When the services rendered in return for a promise to make a testamentary disposition are so exceptional and extraordinary that they cannot be properly compensated in money (i.e., there is no adequate legal remedy), the remedy is an action for quasi-specific performance to impose a constructive trust on the property of the decedent's estate and to enforce the agreement to make a will.

Trust litigation and probate litigation are conducted within the Probate Division of the Superior Court or Circuit Court of local jurisdiction. The Probate Division for Santa Clara County Superior Court is located at 191 N. First Street, San Jose, CA.

The Law Offices of Dawson G. Crawford can assist you with oral or written agreements to make a will or trust in either Santa Clara County Superior Court, San Francisco County Superior Court, Hawaii’s Fifth Circuit Court (Kauai), or other Superior and Circuit Courts within California or Hawaii.