Contract Law

Fundamentally, two or more parties enter into a contract. A "party" may be an individual, a group of people, or even an "artificial person" such as a corporation. The parties to a contract must have the legal capacity to enter into that contract. Persons who are deemed incompetent due to physical or mental illness lack capacity to enter into contracts. Minors, which in most states refers to persons under the age of 18, may enter into contracts. However, any contract involving a minor is voidable. When a contract involving a minor goes unfulfilled it may be affirmed or disaffirmed when the minor reaches maturity, or legally becomes an adult. Parties to a contract also must have the legal right to do what the contract promises; for example, one cannot sell what one does not own.