Basic legal things everyone should know

[fnord_too]

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer (IANAL). Hopefully, some lawyers will chime in with some good items, but you don't have to be a lawyer to know the law, so if you have some good advice or knowledge please share it. Also, everything I am writing is specific to the US.

So, I will start with a couple of contract items everyone should really know. Contract law covers a lot more than you may think. When you go into a convenience store and buy a drink, you are executing a contract.

First thing: in order to have a valid contract there must be bargain and consideration. What that means is that both sides have to get something out of the deal. It also means that gift promises are not enforceable. So if I say I am going to give you half of my cash if I win the wsop me this year, I don't have to. We don't have a contract because there was no bargain and consideration. If I say I will give you half if you buy my dinner tonight, then there was bargain and consideration.

Second thing: minors can void any contract they enter into. This may affect a lot of posters. What does this mean? If you are 16, buy a lizzard at the pet store, and it dies, you can take it back and get your money back. (Note: you may have to go to court because the store clerk/manager has no clue that you can legally just void that contract. And you would have to give them their now dead lizard back.) If you buy a car and wreck it, same thing. (Though no dealership is going to sell you a car without having an adult co sign). This protection extends to a reasonable time after you turn 18, though I think that is only for contracts entered before you were 18. (So you enter a contract, turn 18, and you still have a little time to void it, though it is very fuzzy just how much).

General advise: get it in writing! Even though oral contracts (and there are even things called implied contracts) are binding, it is much harder to arbitrate them if there is no record. If you care about the agreement, you should probably take a couple of minutes to write it down on paper and have both sides sign it. This does not have to be fancy or drawn up by a lawyer, it is just there to document what you were both intending. (Though there will probably still be room for interpretation if the agreement is more complex than something like a simple sale).

If you were drunk or otherwise mentally incapacitated at the time you entered a contract, you can probably void it if you can prove it. I am a bit fuzzy on exactly what the requirements to void a contract by this mechanism are.

Also, a lot of 'contracts' are not binding. Often people and companies have you sign non binding contracts to dissuade you from suing. Though the agreement you signed will not hold up in court, the hope is that you will not even try to litigate because you don't realize you have that option.

Oh, and you cannot really bury things in the fine print. I am a bit fuzzy on what is considered incorrigible, but if a judge finds something in the contract incorrigible I believe that is grounds for the wronged (duped) party to void the contract. Oh, and one side having the right to void the contract does not give the other side the same right. So if I am 17, and you offer me a way too sweet deal on something and I enter a contract with you, just because I can void the contract because I am a minor does not mean you can.

Edit - one thing about the minor voiding a contract. AFAIK a minor cannot enter into a contract with the intent of exploiting this. For instance one could not buy a car with the intent of using it in a demolition derby then voiding the contract. If they do, I believe they forfeit their right to void the contract. But intent is kind of hard to prove...