A Virginia association recently received an application from an eleven-year-old boy for an open board position. The bylaws and declaration don’t have any minimum age requirements. The Association has engaged counsel and is scrambling to figure out if they must accept the application and put the boy on the ballot for the election. The application raises all sorts of interesting issues including whether a child with no capacity to enter into a contract can nonetheless vote on a board and make decisions. Practically, of course, it seems that an association who elects an eleven-year-old to the board deserves what they get!

This funny example highlights the never-ending questions that can arise in the context of board elections. The Association is taking the right step in seeking legal advice to resolve this issue before an annual meeting and before an election dispute turns into something more serious. Morris Sperry attorneys can turn around these types of questions quickly and efficiently to keep associations on track with their board elections.