2. The facts relevant to this are that November 5, 2011 a cohabitation contract

Question

2. The facts relevant to this are that November 5, 2011 a cohabitation contract between Les and Kandra Reidt was entered into. Les died on July 9, 2013. From January 2005 until Les's death, he and Kandra lived together as domestic partners in a house in Newport that was titled solely in Les's name.

The November 5, 2011 agreement between Les and Kandra was captioned, "Cohabitation Contract." It was signed by both and notarized. The two-page contract acknowledged that it was intended to satisfy statutory provisions governing cohabitation between unmarried persons and to protect the respective rights of Les and Kandra. The contract specifically acknowledged that Kandra had "invested sums of money and personal labor into the improvement" of the Newport house and it provided for alternative dispositions of the value of that investment through a payment, an option to purchase with a reduction in price, or a lien.

In July 2012, after executing the cohabitation agreement, Les executed a will. The will nominated Les's son, Broc and Karla as personal representatives, with the joint power to nominate additional or successor personal representatives. The will included specific devises of personal items to Broc and household goods to Kandra.   Broc or his estate were listed as the residuary beneficiaries of Les's personal property. And the devise of real property provided: "I devise any interest I may have in my homestead, and any other real property, to my son," Broc.

In probate proceeding who will likely get the house and why? There is contract law involved in this and the key words may be in the last sentence above.

Explanation / Answer

The house will go to Broc as that is clearly stated in the Will. The household goods would go to Kandra. As there was a cohabitation agreement between Les and Kandra, she would get the household goods as she also had made some investments. In the absence of any cohabitation agreement, Kandra would not have got anything.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse 2
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.