Handelingsonbekwaam
Legally incapacitated
Legal incapacity means that a person is unable to independently perform valid legal acts.
Legal incapacity is a concept under Dutch civil law indicating that a person lacks the authority to perform legal acts, such as entering into contracts or accepting an inheritance. This applies to minors and to adults placed under curatorship.
The provisions protect vulnerable individuals from the consequences of their own acts while ensuring legal certainty for third parties. Legal acts performed by a person lacking legal capacity are in principle void or voidable, unless consent has been given by a legal representative, such as a parent or curator.
In practice, notaries and lawyers routinely verify legal capacity in transactions to avoid invalidity of deeds or contracts.
“Because the client had been declared legally incapacitated, the purchase agreement could only be validly concluded with the cooperation of the curator.”
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