A verbal agreement where one person is legally obligated to give their wages to another to cover all their living expenses remains
legally unenforceable.
While it is common and legal for people to voluntarily share finances (like in a marriage or a partnership), the law draws a very hard line at
enforcing such an agreement if one person wants out.
1. It Violates Wage Laws
Vermont has strict protections under
Title 21, Section 342 regarding how wages are paid.
- Ownership of Wages: Legally, wages belong to the person who performs the work.
- Written Authorization Required: For an employer to send any part of your wages to a third party (like an insurance company or a creditor), there must be a written authorization. A verbal agreement to hand over your paycheck to another individual for their personal expenses would not be recognized by a court as a valid "wage assignment."
2. The "Illusory" Nature of the Deal
For a contract to be valid in Vermont, it needs
consideration—a fair exchange where both people get something of value.
- If Person A works a job and gives all the money to Person B to pay Person B's expenses, Person A is receiving nothing of legal value in return.
- Even if Person B argues they are providing "companionship" or "permission to live there," Vermont courts generally view agreements where one person is "kept" while the other does 100% of the labor as unconscionable (grossly unfair).
3. Public Policy: The Right to Quit
A core principle of Vermont law is that you cannot "contract away" your basic liberty.
- At-Will Freedom: You have the right to stop working at any time.
- Peonage: Any agreement that tries to legally force you to keep working for the financial benefit of another person is considered a form of "peonage" or debt bondage. Even if it was agreed to verbally, the moment the worker decides they no longer want to do it, the "contract" ends. The other person cannot sue for "lost wages" because they were never entitled to the worker's labor in the first place.
4. Gifts vs. Contracts
If a person has been paying for someone else’s life for a long time and then stops, the court usually views those past payments as
completed gifts.
- You cannot sue someone to "keep giving you gifts."
- Without a written, formal contract that meets very specific legal standards (and even then, it’s shaky), the law assumes that supporting someone else is a voluntary choice that can be withdrawn at any time.
What happens if someone tries to sue?
If Person B went to a Vermont court and said,
"We had a verbal deal that he would work and pay my rent, and now he stopped," the court would likely:
- Dismiss the claim because the "contract" violates public policy and labor laws.
- Potentially penalize Person B if there is any evidence of coercion, as it could look like a violation of Vermont’s human trafficking and labor servitude laws (13 V.S.A. § 2652).
If you are looking for a way to create a legal support agreement—such as a "Cohabitation Agreement" or a "Personal Services Contract"—these MUST be in writing and should be reviewed by an attorney to ensure they don't violate labor laws. 
