Ohio Revised Code

Ohio Rev. Code § 2107.04 (2026)

Agreement to make a will

✓ current as of May 2026
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No agreement to make a will or to make a devise or bequest by will shall be enforceable unless it is in writing. The agreement shall be signed by the maker or by some other person at the maker's express direction. If signed by a person other than the maker, the instrument shall be subscribed by two or more competent witnesses who heard the maker acknowledge that it was signed at the maker's direction.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 17 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1953–2025 · leading case: Hammond v. Perry, 2013 Ohio 3683 (Ohio Ct. App. 2013).
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Hammond v. Perry, 2013 Ohio 3683 (Ohio Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 16× “R.C. 2107.04 provides that “[n]o agreement to make a will or to make a devise or bequest by will shall be enforceable unless it is in writing.”
Frantz v. Maher, Exr., 155 N.E.2d 471 (Ohio Ct. App. 1957). · cites it 18× “(1) Section 2107.04, Revised Code, a special statute of frauds, which provides that: “No agreement to make a will or to make a devise or bequest by will shall be enforceable unless it is in writing.”
Gottfried-Smith v. Gottfried, 695 N.E.2d 1229 (Ohio Ct. App. 1997). · cites it 5× “First, appellant begins her argument in support of her first assignment of error by acknowledging that under Ohio law, specific performance of an oral contract to leave a business to an employee by a will in exchange for the employee’s work is not available because of R.”
Brannan v. Fowler, 654 N.E.2d 434 (Ohio Ct. App. 1995). · cites it 3× “Appellee filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that appellant’s complaint alleged an oral contract to make a will, prohibited by R.C. 2107.04. Therefore, appellee argued, he was entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”
Widok v. Est. of Wolf, 2020 Ohio 5178 (Ohio Ct. App. 2020). “The Estate properly states that, pursuant to R.C. 2107.04, “no agreement to make a will or to make a devise or bequest by will shall be enforceable unless it is in writing.”
Erwin v. Wanda E. Wise Revocable Trust, 2013 Ohio 952 (Ohio Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 31× “) barred by R.C. 2107.04, which requires that an agreement to 1 The exact terms of this alleged oral agreement are unclear.”
Swank v. Swank, 2011 Ohio 6920 (Ohio Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 2× “This Court found the various contractual interests Clark and Robert claimed were in reality an unenforceable contract to make a will, because there was no present interest, by partnership or otherwise, supported by the evidence and that the trial court's conclusion was contrary…”
In re Est. of Bohl, 2016 Ohio 637 (Ohio Ct. App. 2016). “{¶ 36} Larry's contention that the magistrate in this case "was the sole judge of the credibility of the witnesses" is clearly incorrect.”
Thomas v. Delgado, 2022 Ohio 4235 (Ohio Ct. App. 2022). “14 BE 0051, 2016-Ohio-4916 , ¶ 56; R.C. 2107.04. Nor is there a dispute as to whether the defendants were aware of the provisions of Adelina’s will.”
Rogers v. Helmes, 432 N.E.2d 186 (Ohio 1982). · cites it 2× “03, nor is it even found in Section 2107.04, Revised Code, relating to an agreement to make a will, the word, ‘competent,’ alone appearing therein.”
Clark v. Clark, 2025 Ohio 159 (Ohio Ct. App. 2025). · cites it 3× “In paragraph nineteen of his complaint, Jay states, “in exchange for operating Clark Brothers, Defendant Clark promised [Jay] that, upon her death, he would receive [Artie’s] shares in Clark Brothers if [Jay] would take care of the farm.”
In re Guardianship of Mull, 2015 Ohio 5440 (Ohio Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 2× “{¶35} Florida law provides: No agreement to make a will, to give a devise, not to revoke a will, not to revoke a devise, not to make a will, or not to make a devise shall be binding or enforceable unless the agreement is in writing and signed by the agreeing party in the…”
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