Do Any of You Know Law that Allows This?
Is there any provision under the law of contracts where a 3rd party can be contractually obligated to a contract without consent of the 3rd party? Example:
I and I alone sign a 5 year apartment lease. The lease states that if I die before the lease term expires then my estate and heirs will pay the remaining balance on the lease.
O.K. I understand my estate having to cover any unpaid rent. My estate consists of my assets upon death. Those assets were my assets.
But how can my heirs be obligated to pay out of their own funds (not funds I would leave them in my estate) my unpaid lease? I know of nothing under contract law that allows for this. I can't obligate 3rd parties without their written consent.
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That is an unenforceable contract.
Now if the wording was meant to say that your heirs will pay your debts out of your assets, that's acceptable and enforceable. But there's no chance that they'll get the heirs to make up the difference if your estate doesn't cover the lease balance.
And who signs a 5-year lease anyways?
Your heirs are obligated to pay your debts to the extent of the value of your estate only. Your estate consists of your assets LESS your debts, not assets alone. This would be a debt. If your estate s not sufficient to settle the debt, the remainder goes unpaid.
You are correct. Good luck to this landlord in collecting from people that never signed the lease.
This is a common practice: make a statement in a contract that's not legal. Hope that it's not questioned.
However, yes, the estate does take on debts. But someone cannot collect more than the value of the estate.