To be considered legally competent, a person must meet which of the following criteria?

To be considered legally competent, the essential criteria include being mentally sound and of legal age. Legal competence refers to an individual's ability to understand the nature and consequences of their decisions and actions. This typically encompasses two main components: mental soundness (the capacity to reason, understand, and make informed decisions) and reaching the age of majority (which is usually 18 years old in most states, including South Carolina). Meeting these two criteria ensures that a person can enter into contracts and other legal agreements responsibly.

Having a valid driver's license, being a resident of the state, or having prior experience with contracts may be relevant in specific situations but do not define legal competence. These factors do not inherently contribute to a person's ability to make sound legal decisions; thus, they are not required to establish one's competence in the legal context.