Zachary Cox Upper 6 Alpha 1

Law Contract Essay – Trevor and Lucy

Trevor and Lucy do not have a binding contract in this agreement. Although a contract
refers to a legally binding agreement parties who agree to perform or to not perform an act, the
agreement between the couple to perform an act was not legally binding in this case. This is due
to their intention to create legal obligations. When there are social/domestic agreements the law
assumes that there is no intention to create legal obligations due to the domestic/friendly
relationship between the persons included in the agreement. This applies especially to the
relationship between Trevor and Lucy seeing as they are married, as a result they would have to
state they have an intention to make the agreement legally binding. However, between a
separated husband and wife, the circumstances can be different. In the case of Merritt v Merritt,
there was a breach of contract where the agreement was made during the separation of the two
parties. This was despite their past, close relationship.
In Kyle’s case the agreement would not be binding on him either. This is due to his
capacity as a minor. Capacity refers to a person’s ability to enter a contract. Seeing as Kyle was a
child at the time of the agreement, the law considers him to not have the full mental capabilities
that an adult would have. As a result, Kyle does not have the capacity to enter a contractual
agreement. Kyle could only enter a contract if a parent or guardian helps enter them into one. In
addition, the relationship between Kyle and his parents is a domestic relationship so agreements
between them or not seen as legally binding unless there is a clear intention to make it binding.
Lastly, since Kyle is a third party to agreement, the Doctrine of Privity prevents him from having
any legal obligations in the contract. He was only mentioned because he is a part of the
contract’s conditions.
Kyle’s legal position may still not be binding since it is an agreement made between
persons in a domestic relationship. Apart from this he can’t simply be made a party to the
contract due to his capacity as a minor, so his parents would have to enter him into the contract
on his behalf. Unless stated otherwise, Kyle’s agreement still will not be binding even with these
circumstances, unless his family decides to state that it will be binding thus changing his legal
position to a binding one.