Agreements involving a contract to establish a trust, to make a · as in force on May 31, 2026
§ 13-2.1 Agreements involving a contract to establish a trust, to make a
testamentary provision of any kind, and by a personal
representative to answer for the debt or default of a
decedent, required to be in writing
(a) Every agreement, promise or undertaking is unenforceable unless it or some note or memorandum thereof is in writing and subscribed by the party to be charged therewith, or by his lawful agent, if such agreement, promise or undertaking:
(1) Is a contract to establish a trust.
(2) Is a contract to make a testamentary provision of any kind.
(3) Is a promise by a personal representative to answer for the debt or default of his decedent.
(b) A contract to make a joint will, or not to revoke a joint will, if executed after the effective date of this paragraph can be established only by an express statement in the will that the instrument is a joint will and that the provisions thereof are intended to constitute a contract between the parties.
Certain estate-related promises must be in signed writing.
Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.
This provision appears in Volume 1 — The Surrogate's Court in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Surrogate's Court: Court Rules & the EPTL; Volume 5 — Your Career: Surrogate's Court in Plain English.