Stolen Property?

[guestposter]

If you was a minor when your parents took away property valued at $500 and when you became an adult you wanted that property back are you entitled to get that property back

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I believe that a minor can sue. I don't know if the statute of limitations is "tolled" or doesn't run until a minor becomes an adult. Assuming it tolled, I still think you'd have an extremely difficult time trying to prove your case. I'd think about the relationship between you and your parents first and whether it's worth going to court over $500 and balance it against the probability of even having a strong case. I don't get a good feeling about filing such a lawsuit. Speak to your parents and try to work things out.

 

[mightymoose]

A minor doesn't "own" anything. Everything the minor thinks he/she owns actually belongs to the parents, and they can do with the property as they please regardless of value.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

A minor doesn't "own" anything. Everything the minor thinks he/she owns actually belongs to the parents, and they can do with the property as they please regardless of value.

Actually I disagree here - I believe that a minor can own property but may not be able to actually sue. So to rephrase what I meant to say, the minor can own an item but the guardian is the only person who can enforce a minor's right to sue. Here there is an inherent contradiction (what guardian will sue themselves) and I'm not quite sure how that might be handled by a court. I'm guessing another guardian might be appointed to assert the rights of the minor. However, reaching the age of the majority, a minor should be able to sue with regard to property the minor owned.