Keywords: minor; contract; infant; capacity; age of majority; necessaries; grant; liability; misrepresentation; agency; service; consent; binding; child; incapacity; voidable; void; tort; fraud; guarantee; indemnity; married; affirmation; repudiation; property
The law has always given special protection to persons under the age of majority (which is set at 19 years old in BC). For minors' contracts, this special protection attempts to balance two competing policies: first, that minors in the marketplace should be protected from their own immaturity and from the unscrupulous actions of others; second, that where circumstances make it desirable for minors to have access to the marketplace, that access should not be denied. The tension between these two goals has caused the law of minors' contracts to become convoluted and in need of reform.
