Assignment: Worksheet 12.3: Contractual Capacity

Courts generally assume the existence of contractual capacity.

In regard to minors, the act of being freed from parental control; occurs when a child's parent or legal guardian relinquishes the legal right to exercise control over the child.

emancipation

The age at which an individual is considered legally capable of conducting himself or herself responsibly.

age of majority

the legal avoidance, or setting aside, of a contractual obligation

disaffirmance

When a minor who has entered into a contract opts to avoid that contract, she or he can choose the particular portions of the contract to disaffirm.

false

Espinoza is sixteen but looks much older. She purchases a diamond bracelet, but decides nine months later that it was unwise to spend the money, so she:

can return the bracelet and get all of her money back

Adults who enter into contracts with minors can avoid their contractual duties just as the minors can.

false

Courts in a growing number of states place additional duties on the minor when the minor disaffirms. These duties include:

the minor is responsible for damages to the property returned, for ordinary wear and tear for the returned property, and for the depreciation of that returned property.

Generally, when minors act on their own, their parents are...

not liable for contracts made by their minor children

In contract law, ratification is the act of accepting and giving legal force to an obligation that previously was not enforceable.

True

Sven goes to a bar, drinks eight shots of bourbon, and then goes to an electronics store, where he buys a large flat-screen TV for $2,500. If he later wants to void the contract based on his intoxication when he bought it, he will need to prove that

he lacked the mental capacity to enter into the contract

Ronald suffers from dementia, which impacts his brain function, but he also has healthy periods when his mind is fully functioning. During one of these healthy periods, Ronald enters into a contract, which he later seeks to avoid. In a majority of states, the contract will not be enforced because of Ronald's dementia.

false