Estate Issues

At Gale Law, our estate litigation practice often involves cases where a deceased person owes someone money or has left unresolved financial obligations. These situations can be complex and emotionally challenging, particularly when the terms of repayment were not clearly documented or included in a will.

To help you understand your options, we've outlined two key concepts that frequently arise in these cases: Quantum Meruit and Unjust Enrichment. These legal principles explain how you might recover what you are owed, even when a formal contract or will is not in place.

How Can I Claim Payment for Services I Provided to the Deceased?

"Quantum meruit" is a Latin phrase meaning “for services rendered.” It refers to what someone has earned or deserves for the work or services they provided. This claim allows a person to recover damages (something they’ve lost) in cases where a contract was not completed or its terms are unenforceable, but the parties acted in a way that created a relationship resembling a contract.

Where unjust enrichment (unfair gain) can be proven, a quantum meruit claim may also be made. An example is where the deceased promised to pay for a service, but passed away before he was able to do so.

In such cases, the claimant can ask the court to be either compensated (paid) for their service or for the court to enforce the deceased’s promise.

Example Scenario:
You and Bob are friends. Bob asks you for a $20,000 loan to renovate his home. He promises to repay the loan after selling his home, and you agree. Unfortunately, Bob suddenly passes away, and you discover either:
⦁ Bob didn’t get a chance to write a will, or
⦁ Bob’s will doesn’t mention the loan repayment.

You’re now worried the money you loaned Bob is lost. What can you do? This type of situation happens often, but there are legal steps you can take to recover your contributions.

What Can I Do if I Contributed to the Estate but Was Not Paid? 

Unjust enrichment is a legal doctrine (principle) in equity (fairness). The concept is used to describe scenarios where:

⦁ The claimant made a significant contribution to the property of the defendant (their estate);
⦁ They did not receive compensation (any form of payment) for this contribution;
⦁ There is no legal reason to allow this gain (enrichment) of the defendant (estate);

Unjust enrichment claims usually arises in cases with common law spouses. Unlike married spouses, common law spouses have no statutory property rights (meaning they have no automatic right to inherit as married spouses do). Their claims are restricted to resulting/ constructive trust claims (a type of legal relationship recognized to prevent an unfair result) and implied trust (when it is implied that a legal relationship was intended based on facts).

A common law spouse whose partner passes away may have a claim for unjust enrichment if the deceased received an unfair benefit at their expense. For example, contributing to the household chores, caregiving of their partner when sick, or financial contributions. These are all examples of time and/or money by the claimant that benefited the deceased and their estate.

It would not be fair (or can't be justified in law) to allow the deceased’s estate to retain (keep) the benefit. An unjust enrichment claim can be for money or share in a property. The approach is “value surviving” meaning if the surviving common law spouse put money into an asset (thing you own that has worth) owned by the deceased and the value fell, the court only awards an amount equal to the amount that the asset is valued (e.g., how much the house is currently worth). In addition to claims in equity, common law spouses are entitled to support.