Which describes an oral agreement or partially written contract that may not contain all elements and may not be enforceable under the statute of frauds?

• A. Informal (parol) contract
• B. Executed contract
• C. Formal contract
• D. Void contract

Answer: (A)

Parol contracts are oral or only partially written agreements that may not include every element needed for a binding contract, and they can be unenforceable under the Statute of Frauds. The Statute of Frauds requires certain contracts to be in writing to be enforceable, so when an agreement is oral or only partially written and falls into those categories, it may not be enforceable unless there’s a way around the writing requirement (such as partial performance or other recognized exceptions). This concept explains why such agreements are labeled informal—they lack the formal written form that the law sometimes demands. In contrast, an executed contract is already fully performed, a formal contract is created with specified formalities, and a void contract is invalid from the start, none of which describe the nature of an informal parol agreement.