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1. Read the following scenario and answer the question in 5-10 sentences. You ar

ID: 334003 • Letter: 1

Question

1. Read the following scenario and answer the question in 5-10 sentences. You are an adult friend of a sixty-five-year-old male, James, who lives next door. James is friendly and kind to you and your ramily. James has become increasingly forgetful of facts and names lately and you once found him lost in another part of your familiar neighborhood. On the other hand, James has significant periods of mental clarity, living independently and erforming complex mental tasks. For example, he profitably buys and sells collectibles at flea markets and on the Internet. James's family lives far away, and may not know that James is possibly showing early signs of mental instability. You know that a court can determine if someone is mentallv incompetent and appoint a guardian to represent that individual Only then can the guardian enter into binding legal obligations on behalf of the mentally incompetent person. From the perspective of contractual legal capacity, explain the advantages and drawbacks of declaring someone like James incompetent.

Explanation / Answer

As James is showing the signs of mental disability he should be declared incompetent before getting involved in further contracts. Once James is declared mentally incompetent, any agreements made by James after formal declaration would become void and this would help James to get rid of any chances of contractual breach due to his mental impairment. As the court would appoint guardian would take care of James’ business affairs and can also enter into agreements on behalf of James. The guardian can also disaffirm the contracts if James makes any. Hence James can continue his business through the guardian without mistakes through the guardian overcoming his mental instability. The drawbacks include the chances of exploitation of the guardianship if proper monitoring is not in place. If James is declared mentally incompetent he would not be able to enter into any contracts and hence he may not be able to control his business. James is unstable only for some time and he may feel desperate when he is not able to do business by own. Moreover the guardian may not be able to perform the business as good as James does.