The last scenario concerns contracts involving the transfer of property rights – such as land sale contracts. These contracts remain in place on foot, i.e. they are enforceable by or against the succession. The second thing you need to understand is that in most cases, there is a presumption in the law that a contract will survive the death of the contractually obligated person. In other words, with the exception of a few specific exceptions such as the aforementioned student loans, almost all contracts and the obligations arising from them continue even after the death of the person creating the contract. In other words, death does not usually terminate the contract or the obligations arising from it. The 400-year-old general rule states that an executor must perform the impersonal contracts of the deceased, regardless of the inconvenience, cost and commercial futility to the parties. The courts have ruled that obligations to pay money, rent property, bond and various other types of obligations are impersonal and must be performed by the executor. But as discussed in this article, the impersonal nature of a contract can depend on the facts. With some facts, precedents are available to treat even the deceased`s obligations to pay money, rent property, and serve as guarantors as personal obligations that ended with the deceased`s death.
Nevertheless, it is not always easy to draw the line between impersonal contracts and personal service contracts. In the event that “the contract. is not a category that easily falls into one category or another,” explained the seventh circle, “its classification does not need to be established as a question of law, but taking into account all the facts and circumstances. Carlock v La Salle Extension Univ., 185 F.2d 594, 595 (7th Cir. 1950). The next section deals with contracts that seemed impersonal, but the courts unlocked contracts with death. In Bayer Estate v Blue Button Club, 2007 BCSC 517, the British Columbia Superior Court upheld a contract for the death of a party. In this case, the deceased, Bernard Bayer, and his employer, Blue Button Club, entered into a 10-year employment contract with an annual base salary of $60,000.00 plus benefits.
The contract provided that after Bayer`s death, the club would pay the deceased`s estate an amount equal to the salary and benefits the testator would have earned. The amount paid to the estate must be based on the time remaining in the employment contract. The contract also included a provision designating the club as the beneficiary of the deceased`s insurance policy, provided that the club maintained insurance for Bernard`s life. After Bayer`s death, the club tried to argue that the employment contract was unenforceable. The court rejected the club`s request and upheld the contract and ordered the club to pay the deceased`s salary to his estate. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS: A person`s constitutional rights end upon death. If there are rights, they belong to the next of kin of the deceased. See State v. Powell, 497 So. 2d 1188 (fla. 1986) (parents` claim for damages for the alleged unlawful removal of their sons` cornea and seeking a judgment that includes § 732.9185, F.S.
declared unconstitutional); Crocker v. Pleasant, 778 So. 2d 978 (fla. 2001) (alleged violation of the county`s right to due process by failing to inform parents of their son`s death). The tribunal concluded that Inland Credit`s contractual obligations ended with Levin`s death and affirmed that the parties considered that Inland Credit`s performance depended on Levin`s survival. The court referred to the wording of the agreement that “as a condition of obtaining the mortgage, personal guarantees would be provided by five individuals (including Murray Levin) and their respective spouses.” One judge argued that contracts should not “become unenforceable due to the death of a guarantor,” especially if his entire estate and $50,000 in insurance products passed to his wife, who also agreed to guarantee the loan. We live in a time when life can be complex.
