This is not a substitute for legal advice.  An attorney must be consulted.

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  Necessity of Written Instrument

An agreement, contract, conveyance, sale, or other transfer of real estate, or an interest in it, usually must be set forth in writing and signed.  The writing requirement is found in a body of law, sometimes referred to as the “statute of frauds.”  This law makes oral or verbal transfers of real estate unenforceable.  The written document setting forth the terms of the sale or transfer is referred to as “an instrument.”  Simply put, an instrument is a written document.  To be enforceable, a sale or transfer of real estate, including an encumbrance such as a mortgage, must be evidenced by a properly executed instrument.  Some examples of instruments affecting real estate include: contracts, deeds, leases, mortgages or deeds of trust. 

A possible exception to the writing requirement occurs where one or more of the parties to the agreement have partly performed their obligations under the contract and strict enforcement of the writing requirement would be inequitable or unfair.  Another exception occurs where one or both sides to an oral agreement admit the terms of the contract and agree to put it in writing or agree that it will be enforced.  Please see specific state for details and/or differences.

Black’s Law Dictionary, Fifth Edition.

ALABAMA | ALASKA | ARIZONA | ARKANSAS | CALIFORNIA | COLORADO | CONNECTICUT | DELAWARE | FLORIDA 
 GEORGIA | HAWAII | IDAHO | ILLINOIS | INDIANA | IOWA | KANSAS | KENTUCKY | LOUISIANA | MAINE | MARYLAND 
 MASSACHUSETTS | MICHIGAN | MINNESOTA | MISSISSIPPI | MISSOURI | MONTANA | NEBRASKA | NEVADA 
 NEW HAMPSHIRE | NEW JERSEY | NEW MEXICO | NEW YORK | NORTH CAROLINA | NORTH DAKOTA | OHIO 
 OKLAHOMA | OREGON | PENNSYLVANIA | RHODE ISLAND | SOUTH CAROLINA | SOUTH DAKOTA | TENNESSEE 
 TEXAS | UTAH | VERMONT | VIRGINIA | WASHINGTON | WEST VIRGINIA | WISCONSIN | WYOMING

ALABAMA
Alabama Code §8-9-2.

ALASKA
Alaska Code §09.25.020.

ARIZONA
Arizona Code §44-101.

ARKANSAS
Arkansas Code §4-59-101-03.

CALIFORNIA
California CC §1091.

COLORADO
Colorado Code §38-10-108, 110.

CONNECTICUT
Connecticut Code §52-550.

DELAWARE
Delaware Code §6-2714(b).

FLORIDA
Florida Code §725.01 onward.

GEORGIA
Georgia Code §44-7-2;  13-5-31.

HAWAII
Hawaii Code §656-1.

IDAHO
Idaho Code §9-503, 504.

ILLINOIS
Illinois Code §740-80/1, 2.

INDIANA
Indiana Code §32-2-2-1.

IOWA
Iowa Code §622.32-35.

KANSAS
Kansas Code §33-105, 106.

KENTUCKY
Kentucky Code §371.010.

LOUISIANA
Louisiana CC §2275.

MAINE
Maine T.33, §51-53.

MARYLAND
Maryland Real Prop. Art. §5-104.

MASSACHUSETTS
Massachusetts C. 259, §1.

MICHIGAN
Michigan CLA §566.106, 110, 132.

MINNESOTA
Minnesota Code §513.04, .06.

MISSISSIPPI
Mississippi Code §15-3-1.

MISSOURI
Missouri Code §432.010.

MONTANA
Montana Code §28-2-903.

NEBRASKA
Nebraska Code §36-103.

NEVADA
Nevada Code §111.205 through .210, 111.015.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
New Hampshire C. 506, §1-2.

NEW JERSEY
New Jersey Code §25-1-2.

NEW MEXICO
New Mexico Common Law.

NEW YORK
New York G.O.L. §5-703.

NORTH CAROLINA
North Carolina Code §22-2.

NORTH DAKOTA
North Dakota Code §9-06-04; 47-10-01.

OHIO
Ohio Code §1335.05.

OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma Code §15-136.

OREGON
Oregon Code §41.580; 93.020.

PENNSYLVANIA
Pennsylvania Code §33-1.

RHODE ISLAND
Rhode Island Code §9-1-4.

SOUTH CAROLINA
South Carolina Code §27-23-60.

SOUTH DAKOTA
South Dakota Code §53-8-2.

TENNESSEE
Tennessee Code §29-2-101.

TEXAS
Texas Bus. & Comm. Code §26.01.

UTAH
Utah Code §25-5-1.

VERMONT
Vermont Code §12-181.

VIRGINIA
Virginia Code §11-2.

WASHINGTON
Washington Code §64.04.010-.020.

WEST VIRGINIA
West Virginia Code §36-1-3; 55-1-1.

WISCONSIN
Wisconsin Code §706.01-.02, .04.

WYOMING
Wyoming Code §1-23-105.

This is not a substitute for legal advice.  An attorney must be consulted.
Copyright © 1994 - 2014 by LAWCHEK, LTD.

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This is not a substitute for legal advice. An attorney must be consulted.