Can contract be void if signed by incompetent elderly??

Can contract be void if signed by incompetent elderly??

s_jenz@hotmail.com (Steve)	7/28/2003 12:17:14 AM
Hello, I know an elderly individual who signed a contract (similar to contract for deed) and takes monthly payments on some land. It appears that the contract they signed does not represent their intentions. At the time of the sale the person didnt have their full faculties and would not have signed the contract if they understood it to it's fullest. What is at issue specifically is a clause of the contract giving the buyer the right to lower the interest rate, or pay off the remaining amount in full. About 6-8 years have past since the signing and this clause was not known to the seller or his representitives. What possible actions can be taken here?



"Larry Smith"	7/28/2003 9:24:36 AM
"Steve" <s_jenz@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:51c487ea.0307272317.5c1dca35@posting.google.com... Hello, I know an elderly individual who signed a contract (similar to contract for deed) and takes monthly payments on some land. It appears that the contract they signed does not represent their intentions. At the time of the sale the person didnt have their full faculties and would not have signed the contract if they understood it to it's fullest. What is at issue specifically is a clause of the contract giving the buyer the right to lower the interest rate, or pay off the remaining amount in full. About 6-8 years have past since the signing and this clause was not known to the seller or his representitives. What possible actions can be taken here? Ordinarily there is a presumption of competency so the burden of proof is on the party claiming incompetency. One is always presumed to know and understand the specifics of a contract one signs. In addition the passing of 6 to 8 years while he collected payments does not help your elderly, nor the fact that he had representatives (attorneys? attorneys in fact? conservators?), who, if they were aware of the contract, arguably had knowledge and understanding of its contents. You're urged to seek local counsel.



cj.green@worldnet.att.net (Christopher Green)	7/29/2003 11:24:06 AM
s_jenz@hotmail.com (Steve) wrote in message news:<51c487ea.0307281751.31245925@posting.google.com>... This elderly person's family wasn't informed of the deal until it was too late to prevent. Now it is known that the person had a number of medical issues affecting their judgement, they may not even have understood that parts of the cotract were contrary to their wishes. The clause allowing refinancing or ballon payment is an unwelcome surpise to the family. What kind of lawyer would you recommend in this situation? How much money would this require to contest and what are the odd of a positive outcome? If the situation is as you describe, it is unlikely that an order voiding the contract or a conservatorship could be had. But you don't say what state this is in, and states have different criteria for establishing incompetency and appointing conservators. Judgments of incompetency and appointments of conservators are to protect people who are manifestly incapable of managing their own affairs. You would at least have to show that the contract was so unfair that no reasonable person would have entered into it on those terms, not merely that your family is unhappy with a deal he made many years ago and has been carrying out ever since. If it is his property, and he is not squandering it, but has merely entered into a deal which you think could have been more favorable, I don't see how that makes him incompetent. But I'm not a lawyer. -- Chris Green

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