What is the name of your state? California
My father passed away and left his entire estate to my sibling. The only way I knew how to contact my sibling was via email. I immediately began a series of emails with my sibling who agreed I had been treated unfairly. We reached an agreement that he would have the probate attorney send me a check (100k) drawn directly from the estate and that he would then make 15 annual payments of 20k to me out of his own money. The agreement was set into motion when I received the check from the attorney. We never clarified any specific dates regarding the payments. We continued our email communication and after a year went by I mentioned our agreement and he then made 3 deposits into my bank for a total of 3.5k. I haven't heard from him since and he does not respond to my emails. I have always heard that emails containing "handshake" agreements can be considered legally binding contracts. Is that true?
My father passed away and left his entire estate to my sibling. The only way I knew how to contact my sibling was via email. I immediately began a series of emails with my sibling who agreed I had been treated unfairly. We reached an agreement that he would have the probate attorney send me a check (100k) drawn directly from the estate and that he would then make 15 annual payments of 20k to me out of his own money. The agreement was set into motion when I received the check from the attorney. We never clarified any specific dates regarding the payments. We continued our email communication and after a year went by I mentioned our agreement and he then made 3 deposits into my bank for a total of 3.5k. I haven't heard from him since and he does not respond to my emails. I have always heard that emails containing "handshake" agreements can be considered legally binding contracts. Is that true?