Sixteen year olds can't own cars or anything else because they can't sign a legally binding contract. Legally cars and other things with a title document have to be in their parents name, and legally even if a teenager has a job and buys a car with the money they earn, their parents can take it away or sell it because legally it doesn't belong to the teenager. You have to be of legal age to sign a legally binding contract. That's been the law for decades.Originally Posted by ToomuchStuff
I am in the "if you serve in the military, you should be able to vote" camp - be that with parental signature or not. I mean, if you face dying for your country, you would be able to vote.
With hesitations on my own part, I also think the same with regards to alcohol. If you are serving and can fight/die for your country, I'm thinking you should be able to have a beer.
To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer." Mahatma Gandhi
Be nice whenever possible. It's always possible. HH Dalai Lama
In a world where you can be anything - be kind. Unknown
I agree with this. If someone were to propose a constitutional amendment to allow young active duty service members all the rights and responsibilities of adulthood I'd be for it.
"Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein
No. Minors can own real estate, for instance. They just can't convey or encumber it because they can't contract. Minors can own stock, and have IRAs, but of course, there's the tricky business of how to open a brokerage account for some account types.
In some states they can own and title cars, but again, there's the issue of the contracts to get into that situation. In the state of Washington, they cannot own cars. In Texas, yee haw, they can.
And minors can of course own property they have acquired without contract, and parents don't "own" that item. They have certain abilities to take temporary custodial control of the item, but the parents can (and have been) nailed for theft if they permanently swipe it.
Totally agree Happy!
Since I'm not a lawyer and I don't play one on television, I'll take your word for it. All I know for sure is the laws I grew up with and what I was taught in the Introduction To Commercial Law class I had to take in trade school in 1970. But I do believe several of the things you mention actually require an adult signature and are considered a "custodial account for the benefit of..." so that legally the adult controls it and signs the contracts but they have a fiduciary responsibility to the minor.
I would encourage you to consult with real estate/wills/trusts/estate lawyers if this ever becomes a real concern for you, rather than relying on your non-professional memory of a class you took > 50 years ago.
(Hint: my minor-aged daughter ended up on the title of a piece of real estate some years ago, and it was a bit of a pickle to sort it out... If you have children likely to inherit such things, it's best to plan ahead... Other hint: my in-house attorney was involved in a parent-vs-child who-owns-the-possession lawsuit, and I didn't make up the example of "theft" from whole cloth...)
Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa. I did something that always annoys me when other people do it and which I often complain about. I made a statement based on out-of-date information that only applies in some places and not universally. Here is a bit of clarity on the question of minors owning a car: https://www.carinsurance.com/what-ag...n-own-car.aspx
And while (as I said) a parent or guardian dealing with property owned by a minor or on behalf of a minor has a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of the minor, I was wrong in saying the title of the property has to be in the adult's name. Sometimes it does, sometimes not, but the adult always has that fiduciary duty to act in the minor's best interest with regard to the property. Definition of fiduciary duty: https://definitions.uslegal.com/b/br...iduciary-duty/
Situations like this is why you should always consult a professional even if everybody in an internet forum agrees on what the answer to a question is.
A loooong time ago when people wrote checks for things, I tried to help my 16 y.o. Open a checking account and a savings account. I was required to be on the savings account with her. They wouldn’t put her name on a checking account at all because it turned out that a 16 y.o. In my state couldn’t legally write a check! (They did let my 14 y.o. Son sign the slip for my credit card at the pizza place though. My name is not gender neutral.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote