Contemporary Business Law 8th Edition by Henry Cheeseman

Exercise 3

Gift Promise Elvis Presley, a singer of great renown and a man of substantial wealth, became engaged to Ginger Alden. He was generous with the Alden family, paying for landscaping the lawn, installing a swimming pool, and making other gifts. When his fiancée's mother, Jo Laverne Alden, sought to divorce her husband, Presley promised to pay off the remaining mortgage indebtedness on the Alden home, which Mrs. Alden was to receive in the divorce settlement. Subsequently, Presley died suddenly, leaving the mortgage unpaid. When the legal representative of Presley's estate refused to pay the mortgage, Mrs. Alden brought an action to enforce Presley's promise. The trial court denied recovery. Mrs. Alden appealed. Is Presley's promise to pay the mortgage enforceable? Alden v. Presley , 637 S.W.2d 862, Web 1982 Tenn. Lexis 340 (Supreme Court of Tennessee)