HELP! Is a contract signed by a 17 yr old legally binding?

[dawnbu40]

My opinion is that if your 17 year old daughter had signed the contract and payed the dues out of her own pocket then the contract would definitely be voidable since she was under age.

However, what I gather from your post is that she signed the contract but you paid the dues thus indirectly consenting to the terms that you daughter had entered in to.

IANAL so take it for what you will.

You can always go to small claims court and see what happens or go on Judy Judy...
http://www.judgejudy.com/submit_case.php

This is a tad nasty. I have no desire to go on Judge Judy. The real issue is whether its a real contract. There are no dates specified of when dues are to be paid or how much or for how long. It is very vague. My DD didn't even realize what it was and was 17. She was told it was for fall semester which we paid in full and are not seeking. All I wanted returned was my prepayment of the third installment of dues which weren't due until 6 weeks after she quit.

 

[Green Tea]

My guess is this isn't binding, if they want to pursue it. Is this a small school or a large university? At a small school, for all the ill will it will cause, I might just pay it to save my daughter. You probably can get out of paying, but at what cost? It might be better for her to part ways and end things amicably.

 

[MasterChief]

This is a tad nasty. I have no desire to go on Judge Judy. The real issue is whether its a real contract. There are no dates specified of when dues are to be paid or how much or for how long. It is very vague. My DD didn't even realize what it was and was 17. She was told it was for fall semester which we paid in full and are not seeking. All I wanted returned was my prepayment of the third installment of dues which weren't due until 6 weeks after she quit.

Nasty is a poopy diaper. Me offering my opinion after you asked for comments is not. If you don't want to go to small claims court (or even Judge Judy) that is your prerogative. Don't belittle me because you don't agree with my very polite opinion!

 

[tasha99]

This is a tad nasty. I have no desire to go on Judge Judy. The real issue is whether its a real contract. There are no dates specified of when dues are to be paid or how much or for how long. It is very vague. My DD didn't even realize what it was and was 17. She was told it was for fall semester which we paid in full and are not seeking. All I wanted returned was my prepayment of the third installment of dues which weren't due until 6 weeks after she quit.

How was that poster's advice nasty? I too think the contract wasn't binding, and that if you went to small claims court, you could probably get a return of the dues for the time your daughter was no longer in the sorority.

 

[fall08CP]

It seems like we're not getting to the real issue. It seems that using her daughter's age is just trying to find a loophole- maybe not the best lesson to teach her. If she had been 18 would OP still be trying to get the $$ back? If the issue is that she should have the option to back out, then they have given her that chance. It was her choice to pre-pay. I am in a (local) sorority and we have the option to pre-pay at the beginning of each semester or be on a payment plan and pay every 2 weeks. If one chooses to DA in week 10 of the semester, they will be out everything they had paid thus far. If they were on payment plan and still had an amount due for the remaining 5 weeks of the semester, that amount would be completely wiped out. As others have said, talk with the greek advisor. The greek advisor at my school is outstanding and loves to talk people through these sorts of decisions. I know your daughter has made her choice but my opinion of my sorority changed immensely for the better during sophomore year. But I still don't think using her age is the best way to get out of this - she's not learning how to fight her battles for when she turns 18.

 

[dawnbu40]

It seems like we're not getting to the real issue. It seems that using her daughter's age is just trying to find a loophole- maybe not the best lesson to teach her. If she had been 18 would OP still be trying to get the $$ back? If the issue is that she should have the option to back out, then they have given her that chance. It was her choice to pre-pay. I am in a (local) sorority and we have the option to pre-pay at the beginning of each semester or be on a payment plan and pay every 2 weeks. If one chooses to DA in week 10 of the semester, they will be out everything they had paid thus far. If they were on payment plan and still had an amount due for the remaining 5 weeks of the semester, that amount would be completely wiped out. As others have said, talk with the greek advisor. The greek advisor at my school is outstanding and loves to talk people through these sorts of decisions. I know your daughter has made her choice but my opinion of my sorority changed immensely for the better during sophomore year. But I still don't think using her age is the best way to get out of this - she's not learning how to fight her battles for when she turns 18.

Im glad you are having a positive experience in a sorority. The greek system is awful at her school. One was closed for hazing, another recently had a rape and several young women are being fraudulently charged. I paid the dues so I want my money back if I am entitled to it so this is in effect my battle. My DD tried to handle it herself and they terrified her with threats of collection agencies etc. and started prank calling her. When you are a parent you will understand that when someone starts attacking your child you will defend them. The head of the greek system is married to the chapters advisor and her attitude is "let the girls handle it" so I have been unsuccessful in dealing with them. If the sorority had been honest as to what they were about and my DD wanted to quit I would feel completely different about wanting my $ back. They were not what they made us believe we were paying money for so there is my issue. In my original post I asked if it was legally binding and said I would pay if it were. I don't like being taken advantage of and I feel in this case I am. I also don't like my parenting skills being called into question but that would be my fault for posting I suppose.

 

[Vacation Lover]

How much money are we talking about? I imagine it's probably not worth it to pay an attorney to get it back. Try calling the national chapter representative and explaining the situation. Just Google the name of the sorority to get the national headquarters phone number. Explain that you prepaid dues that were not due until date Y, but your daughter resigned on date X, and you're having trouble collecting the reimbursement. You might also write a letter to the national president and cc the local chapter president, treasurer and chapter adviser, also maybe head of Greek relations for the University. Keep us updated, and good luck to your daughter. Sorry she's going through that.

 

[creativeamanda]

I would say the contract IS legally binding because even though you did not sign the original contract with the minor, you paid the money yourself out of your account, thereby agreeing to the terms of the contract. When you pay the money and allow them to take the money, then you are agreeing to the terms. Not knowing what the contract said is not a defense, as not knowing is never a defense.

My opinion would be to cut your losses, and have your daughter transfer schools. This is a tough lesson she has had to learn, and I hope the best for her.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

Reading back over your first post, if you wrote a check to the sorority, your signature on that check is indicative of a contract between you and the sorority.

I'm not a lawyer, but being around them has rubbed off on me a bit, and I had been thinking about it. I *don't* think they'll be able to come after you for additional money, since at that point they'd have to revert back to the original terms of the contract, which was not signed by you.

See, they're arguing from your check, and you'd be arguing from the unsigned contract. It may just be a wash and you need to officially tell them that's they're not getting any more money and you're done with them.

Now I can go back and post again on that old sorority thread as additional ammo as to why my DD's will NEVER be in a sorority... .

 

[seashoreCM]

(copied from another forum)
A collection agency is subject to all the defenses that the original creditor was subject to. This includes proving the the debt is valid, and in this specific case the debtor's being a minor is still relevent.

 

[cvjw]

When my son was a freshman at UGA, he made the rowing team. We paid all of the dues for the fall semester. After actually doing rowing for 3 weeks (he had never rowed before), he found that he did not have enough time for practice and to keep his grades up. He had to quit the rowing team.

We tried to get a refund of his dues since he was only on the team for a few weeks. They said NO - the dues were already spent and could not be returned. We let it go - a good lesson on not prepaying until you know your kid is going to LOVE the new activity

We probably could have hired a lawyer or went to small claims court, but that was not the lesson we wanted to teach DS and it would not have been worth our time and money.

 

[MagicaDeSpell]

OP, if I were in your shoes, assuming there's no semester derailing trauma going on, I would talk to my daughter about arranging a repayment schedule from HER to YOU (I know it's a little like shutting the barn door after the horse has escaped, I'd prefer to have done that up front, but please bear with me), then I'd point her in the direction of the school's greek system adviser/liaison and the school legal clinic. In my experience, most schools have some sort of legal services available. I'd give her a quick 101 about what to expect since presumably this is new to her, but I'd avoiding holding her hand about it. If she can work through the system and get the money back, that wraps up the whole repayment issue right there for her, and even if she doesn't, if she does her due diligence and works with legal services, she'll have learned a host of very important lessons that are worth more than the money lost in dues and the semester's tuition combined. Think how many people graduate without learning anything about how the legal system and contracts work.

Either way, good luck!

 

[PerfessorZ]

This thread is 7 years old. I'm guessing the OP has resolved the issue one way or another by now.

 

[DawnM]

This thread is 7 years old. I'm guessing the OP has resolved the issue one way or another by now.

Man, I hate unresolved threads. So many old threads have been resurrected with no resolution posted.

 

[disneychrista]

Crap. Didn't check the date.

How much money are we talking? Is it really worth paying a lawyer to get it back?

 

[Burnedout]

Your daughter made a commitment. And agreed whether binding or not. The sorority didn't change. She knew what she was getting into.

Sad. Enabling her to not keep her word

 

[Burnedout]

Your daughter made a commitment. And agreed whether binding or not. The sorority didn't change. She knew what she was getting into.

Sad. Enabling her to not keep her word

Just caught it was old. Wonder how many other things the daughter has backed out of in 7 years.

 

[tasha99]

Just caught it was old. Wonder how many other things the daughter has backed out of in 7 years.

Why should a national company not honor our laws? I would think a sorority would be well aware that children under 18 cannot sign a binding contract.