Current through Chapter 26 of the Legislative Session (excluding Chapter 21)
Section 09.25.010 - Statute of frauds(a) In the following cases and under the following conditions an agreement, promise, or undertaking is unenforceable unless it or some note or memorandum of it is in writing and subscribed by the party charged or by an agent of that party: (1) an agreement that by its terms is not to be performed within a year from the making of it;(2) an agreement the performance of which is not to be completed by the end of a lifetime; this provision includes a contract to bequeath property or make a testamentary disposition of any kind, a contract to assign or an assignment, with or without consideration to the promisor, of a life or health or accident insurance policy, or a promise, with or without consideration to the promisor, to name a beneficiary of that type of policy; but this provision does not include an insurer's promise to issue a policy of insurance, or any promise or assignment with respect to a policy of industrial life or health or accident insurance;(3) a special promise to answer for the debt of another;(4) an agreement by an executor or administrator to pay the debts of the testator or intestate out of the personal estate of the executor or administrator;(5) an agreement made upon consideration of marriage other than mutual promises to marry;(6) an agreement for leasing for a longer period than one year, or for the sale of real property, or of any interest in real property, or to charge or encumber real property;(7) an agreement concerning real property made by an agent of the party sought to be charged unless the authority of the agent is in writing;(8) an agreement authorizing or employing an agent or broker to sell or purchase real estate for compensation or commission; however, if the note or memorandum of the agreement is in writing, subscribed by the party to be charged or by a lawfully authorized agent, contains a description of the property sufficient for identification, authorizes or employs the agent or broker named in it to sell the property, and expresses with reasonable certainty the amount of the commission or compensation to be paid the agent or broker, the agreement of authorization or employment is not unenforceable for failure to state a consideration;(9) an agreement to establish a trust;(10) a subsequent or new promise to pay a debt discharged in bankruptcy;(11) a conveyance or assignment of a trust in personal property;(12) an agreement to pay compensation for services rendered in negotiating a loan, effecting the procurement of a business opportunity, or the purchase and sale of a business, its good will, inventory, fixtures, or an interest in it, including a majority of the voting stock interest in a corporation and including the creating of a partnership interest, other than an agreement to pay compensation to an auctioneer or an attorney at law;(13) an agreement to lend more than $50,000 or to grant or extend credit of more than $50,000, if the loan or grant or extension of credit is not primarily for personal, family, or household purposes and if the person who agrees to lend or grant or extend credit is engaged in the business of lending or arranging for the lending of money or the granting or extension of credit; in this paragraph a loan secured solely by residential property consisting of one to four dwelling units is considered to be a loan primarily for personal, family, or household purposes.(b) No estate or interest in real property, other than a lease for a term not exceeding one year, nor any trust or power concerning the property may be created, transferred, or declared, otherwise than by operation of law, or by a conveyance or other instrument in writing subscribed by the party creating, transferring, or declaring it or by that party's agent under written authority and executed with the formalities that are required by law. If the estate or interest in real property is created, transferred, or declared to a nonresident alien or for the benefit of a nonresident alien, the instrument shall so state and shall contain the name and address of the alien. This subsection does not affect the power of a testator in the disposition of real property by will, nor prevent a trust's arising or being extinguished by implication or operation of law, nor affect the power of a court to compel specific performance of an agreement in relation to the property.