The other night I heard Judge Judy tell a 18 year old boy he had to return a money gift to a 17 year old girl because she was a minor and couldn’t give a gift.
Really? So how far does this law go? If a 16 year kid buys a pair of shoes, wears them out, and tries to return them will the merchant be required to return the kids money?
A gift isn’t a contract, is it? Is a purchase?
Or was JJ again tweaking things to suit her own bias.
Peace,
mangeorge
Please tell me you didn’t just cite Judge Judy as an authority on actual law
I think it’s pretty obvious that I did just the opposite.
well you asked and answered your own question then 
Gift = Donor has title + Intent to give + Delivery of gift + Acceptance of gift
probably only if you demonstrate that there was no donative intent by the minor, because his/her age rendered her susceptible to persuasion, would you get a gift transfer voided by a court. likewise if the thing she gave away wasn’t actually the property of the minor.
as for a contract, sure, written contracts between a minor and a major can be voided at the choice of the minor, but once there has been full performance on the contract the minor can no longer void the contract (there would be other bases to rescind the contract, but not because of his/her age explicitly).
EDIT:
no, a gift isn’t a contract.
a purchase is a contract, but performance is almost fully completed at the time of the transaction (however, there are express and implied warranties, as well as return policies, that form components of the “purchase contract” that would continue to exist after the money changed hands)
I don’t watch Judge Judy so…
She is not well versed on the law? Is she a real judge?
She used to be a real judge iirc. She now runs a tv judge show that operates as binding arbitration on the participants.
As it is an entertainment show made to intrigue viewers, these shows as a general rule make a mockery of the judicial process, do not properly or consistently apply actual principles of law, and they tend to give viewers very poor notions of what is or isn’t legal.
Do not attempt to rob me of my belief in Judge Judy. She is queen.
She was a family court judge in New York, but retired in 1996. She now has one of those judge shows on TV, which is really binding arbitration. What’s more, the show pays all judgments. So, really, she can decide what she wants. I’m sure she is well versed in the law, but she doesn’t necessarily have to rely strictly on the law to make her decision.
Here’s the American Bar Association complaining about the shows:
http://www.abanet.org/dispute/essay/syndicourtjustice.pdf
I think the American Bar Association needs to lighten up.
You have my support on this, Jali. That disclosure was almost as disturbing as learning that there wasn’t a tooth fairy, and it was my parents who wanted my teeth! :eek:
Should have known not to mention a celebrity, so, Subsitiute “someone who plays a judge on TV” for “Judge Judy”.
The transaction on JJ was simply an example. The boy and girl were the stars of my query.
Wish we had a “shake head” smilie. 
Minors can contract for necessities of life. So obviously food and shelter would be in there somewhere as well as most kinds of clothes. I imagine a tux to a prom wouldn’t be a necessity but most clothing a judge would find as needed.
So who decides what is a necessity? A judge that’s who and they all may disagree what exactly a “necessity” is.
My meager business law classes taught me that a minor can enter into any type of contract. The difference is that the minor can revoke his side of the contract at any time before completion
A contract must involve a benefit to both parties. Without more details, it’s hard to say what exactly was going on. What was this gift money, and who brought the case? What was the alleged contract, and was it a benefit to both parties?
Minors can make contracts, but are under the care of a legal guardian who can say what the minor can or cannot do. However, the procedure is to have the guardian sue in court to invalidate the contract. If the minor doesn’t have a guardian, the court will appoint an independent guardian who can then make that request.
Courts cannot simply invalidate contracts at will because one person is a minor.