Can a 16 year old legally be put on a lease if he is married?
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Can a 16 year old legally be put on a lease if he is married?
My boyfriend and I have a 3 month old son. I am 19 and he is 16. Tomorrow we are getting married. His mom signed all the papers already. We are looking for an income based apartment and since he is the only income I was wondering if we could legally put him on the lease or not.
Asked on October 7, 2011 under Real Estate Law, South Dakota
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
In all states in this country a minor (person under 18 years of age) is deemed not legally capable of entering into a binding contract. Meaning, your soon to be husband can enter into a written lease for real property but he can always rescind it since he is under 18 years of age.
The only exception to the above statement is if your soon to be husband has been declared by a superior court in this country to be a legally emancipated minor.
There is nothing preventing your soon to be husband from signing the lease for the rental that you want to enter into. His mother signed presumably as a co-signer for him which makes her responsible for the lease's terms regardless of his age.
Good luck.
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