Death Terminates Brokerage Agreement

The owner of three residential properties died after signing an exclusive right-to-sell agreement with a real estate agency. Her estate sold the properties within the exclusivity period. The brokerage sued for a commission because the properties were sold while the exclusivity period was still in force. The court dismissed the case saying the seller’s death terminated the brokerage agreements.

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT…The reason for declaring the brokerage agreement terminated upon the seller’s death was that brokerage agreements are agency agreements. Any agency you give anyone terminates with your death. As a result, the brokerage agreement was automatically terminated