Be Careful The Promises You Make To Your Children

from the whoops dept

Are spoken promises to children contractually binding? An 11-year-old in central China apparently believes so. His mother promised him a computer if he received grades over 94%. When he scored 97%, his mother told him she couldn't afford the computer, so he took her to court to honor the agreement. The judge apparently "reconciled" the pair, though no details are given. Amusingly, the boy claims he learned about the law from helping his mother and father with their own business. Apparently, his parents taught him a little too well.

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    todd, Nov 9th, 2004 @ 6:34pm

    A promise is only legally binding (in the US) if consideration is given in exchange for that promise.

    Fresh with the knowledge of this "business 101" principle, I told my Fiancee that her promise to marry me was binding AND that since she hadn't given me anything in exchange for my promise to marry her, I was not legally bound to do so.

    Funny, I thought. Not funny, she thought -- I think I slept on the couch for a solid week.

    This kid learned the lesson earlier, I hope.

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]


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