Written Acknowledgment Necessary to Waive the Statute of Limitations

Abstract

In Connecticut a statute provides that "In actions against the representatives of deceased persons, no acknowledgment or promise shall be sufficient evidence of a new or continuing contract to take the case out of the statute of limitations, unless the same be contained in some writing made or signed by the party to be charged thereby." There are similar statutes in other jurisdictions. Under such a statute the question may arise whether the bar of the statute of limitations is waived where the debtor before his death gives the creditor promissory notes of less amount than the face value of the debt, or assigns in writing policies of life insurance as security for the debt, if neither the notes nor the assignments make reference to the debt and their connection with it can be shown only by oral testimony.