Discussion Question Three Due on Day 5 Saturday Hazel is 84 and suffers from debilitating arthritis Sometimes she can barely walk Every time Hazel has been unable to get around her neighbor Ruth cooks and cleans for her until she feels better Hazel has offered to pay Ruth but Ruth always declines One day when Hazel is feeling well she and Ruth eat out in a restaurant and Hazel tells Ruth she is going to leave her 50 000 in her will Six months later Hazel dies without leaving a will Can Ruth successfully sue Hazel s estate for 50 000 State the legal reasons for your answer Do not argue that Ruth can t prove that Hazel made the promise as this question is not about the rules of evidence so assume that every fact stated in the scenario has been proved If it makes you happier assume the waiter overheard the promise and will so testify There are two different types of contracts that this can fall under I believe that this can be a form of a Unilateral Contract This is promise for an act contract Ruth took care of Hazel by cooking and cleaning for her Hazel then tells Ruth that she is going to pay her back for her services by leaving her 50 000 in her will The proof of this is the waiter that will testify that he was there and heard the conversation Hazel was unable to chance her will to put Ruth in there because she suffered from debilitating arthritis and could barely walk There was no way that Hazel could change her will This is what makes this an express contract An express contract can be stated in oral or written words The waiter is once again able to testify that he heard the conversation that states the promise to leave Ruth the 50 000 Second response In this scenario we are dealing with a verbal contract Verbal contracts are hard to prove in court but this is not going to be the case since we can prove a verbal promise of the money was given to Ruth from Hazel I think Ruth should be able to sue Hazel s estate for the 50 000 Hazel was in a competent state of mind and had full knowledge of what she was doing She had arthritis not dementia This contact is an express contract because Hazel verbally promised the money to Ruth At the time of the meeting or lunch when the offer was made it was a executory contract as Hazel had not died yet so neither side had performed their duties to finish the contract When hazel passed away Ruth was entitled to the money Hazel left no will written will She only left a verbal will which is a law binding contract A verbal transaction is just as enforceable as a written contract even though it will be harder to prove in court 1