Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California
My son agreed to reimburse my credit card expenditures for his flight school from a college account I controlled. The flight school lasted 2 months and wound up cost 13,500. I removed 10,000 from his account in late July just prior to his 18th birthday. In August I attempted to extract the additional 3,500 from his college account only to find out that on his 18th birthday (7/29) he transferred the account to be only in his name and removed me from access to the funds (without my knowledge). I have asked him to re-imburse me the 3,500 and he has refused. Can I sue him for breach of contract? Does the fact that I withdrew 10,000 (with his knowledge) amount to acceptance of the verbal contract? Does the fact that he continued to charge my credit card past his 18th birthday amount to tacit approval and acceptance of the original contract?
He was fully aware of the total cost of the school at the onset of classes (7/3) and verbally agreed to allow me to withdarw funds as needed to cover the CC charges. His mother had advised him to chang ethe account on his 18th birthday and to make his own decisions as to whether to pay me or not.
3 Answers from Attorneys
You made a contractual arrangement with a minor. The verbal contract is unenforceable. By weary, he could probably sue you to reimburse him the $10,000 you took from his bank account.
Contracts with a minor are not enforceable. In addition, if the child was a minor you have support obligations. That do not necessarily include flight school, but they may play into this somehow.
Your son's charges after his 18th birthday are of a different character. They can be treated as a loan to your son, to which you are entitled to reimbursement. Again, this may interplay with the $10K you removed from his account.
I would also think really, really hard about suing your own child.
Let me clarify a bit: I meant to say that you should think really, really hard *before* suing your own child. That kind of suit can irreparably damage a relationship between family members.
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