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in general oral agreements are enforceable while oral contra usually advisable due to difficulties improving their existence they are binding if they can be proven however the statute of frauds originally enacted in England in 1677 and now enacted in all 50 states those specifics do vary provide exceptions to this rule we're applicable the statute of frauds requires certain types of contracts to be in writing to be enforceable the reason for the statute of frauds is that some contracts are considered so important and or so vulnerable to fraud that the law considers its safest to insure that there are writings to memorialize and improve their existence while each state has codified its own version of the statute of frauds to cover various types of contracts every state requires the following five contracts to be signed and in writing one contracts for the sale of real property two contracts in consideration of marriage three contracts that cannot be performed within one year four contracts for surety ship in other words to guarantee the debt of another and five agreements to pay the debts of a decedent from one's own pocket in addition the Uniform Commercial Code which applies to contracts for the sales of goods requires the contracts for the sale of goods for $500 or more be in writing to be enforceable some states add additional types of contracts that must be in writing for example some states require life insurance contracts to be in writing trust agreements which are also fundamentally contract are also required to be in writing in some states let's start with real property contracts real property contracts are covered by the statute of frauds and these include any contract for the sale of any interest in real estate for more than one year thus lease agreements for more than one year mortgage agreements that give security interests in land and contracts that assign easements if valid for more than one year are all covered by the statute of frauds and must be in writing to be enforceable the writing in land sale contracts must include at a minimum the purchase price the identity of the parties and a description of the real estate being sold the second category is contracts for consideration of marriage the statute of frauds applies when Mara or the promise to marry is the consideration that's offered by one party to an agreement for example if a man asks a woman to marry him and to entice her to agree he offers to convey property to her this agreement would be covered by the statute of frauds the most common type of contract in consideration of marriage is the prenuptial agreement a prenuptial agreement is signed by a couple before marriage and may agree to terms covering property division upon divorce inheritance agreements upon death and alimony or spousal support upon separation virtually all prenuptial agreements contemplate the marriage of the parties and list each party's agreement to marry as consideration for the other to agree to its terms as such these agreements are covered by the statute of frauds the third category is contracts that cannot be completed within a year if parties enter into a contract for a performance that cannot be completed within a year the statute of frauds requires that it must be in writing note that the performance doesn't have to take a year it merely means that the contract cannot be completed within a year of the date of the agreement so for example an agreement to work a three hour job on a date that's thirteen months in the future is covered by the statute of frauds likewise a two-year employment contract is by definition covered by the statute of fraud contracts of an uncertain duration are not covered by the statute of frauds if it's possible that they'll be completed within a year a construction project projected to take 24 months is counter-intuitively not covered by the statute of frauds if theoretically given an infinite number of workers and infinite supplies it could be done within a year similarly a lifetime contract is also not covered by the statute of frauds even though it's very likely to last more than one year because theoretically the employee could die within a year parenthetically the multi-year employment contract we previously discussed is covered by the statute of frauds even though the employee could also die within a year because if he does die within a year while the multi-year employment contract is obviously excused and rendered moot it is not completed the fourth category is surety ships a surety is a guarantor of the debt of another this occurs when a third party agrees to pay the obligations of another if the obligations are not paid by the debtor the promise could be conditional or unconditional the classic example here is a cosigner on a loan this is common when someone with inadequate credit or inadequate income seeks alone banks will sometimes allow the loan if someone with a stronger credit profile cosign thereby agreeing to pay back the loan if the borrower defaults these agreements are covered by the statute of frauds the fifth category is a promise to pay the debt of a decedent this category is similar to the surety category here someone promises to pay the debt of a decedent from his own funds again either conditionally or unconditionally this is commonly done by an executor or administrator of an estate the executor may seek to employ attorneys accountants financial advisors obtain bonds or even distribute some estate assets before he has gained control of the estate which can take months and a probate proceeding to induce a bank their service professional to provide money or services against future payment by the estate the administrator may have to guarantee the outlay by promising to pay it from his own funds if for whatever reason he's unable to gain access to the estate funds this agreement is covered by the statute of frauds the last category is the sale of goods for $500 or more the previous cases were contracts for services or real estate which are governed by the common law the sale of goods on the other hand is governed by the Uniform Commercial Code or UCC which has been adopted throughout the country under the UCC when there is an agreement to purchase goods for $500 or more the agreement must be in writing this provision for obvious reason this is known as the UCC statute of frauds contracts for the sale of goods for less than $500 can still be completed orally a revised draft of the UCC changes this minimum amount to $5,000 however as of late 2017 most states have chosen to retain the $500 amount well the statute of frauds does vary slightly from state to state and while determining how to satisfy the statute of frauds is a more complex discussion taken up in another presentation it's important to remember that all agreements that fit into any of these categories should be in writing failing to ensure this could render the agreement unenforceable