legal age

The age of majority, that is, the age, usually fixed by law at 21 years, at 18 years for females in some jurisdictions, at which an infant acquires the capacity to bind himself by contract, make conveyances and transfers of property, and conduct business as an adult. 27 Am J1st Inf § 5. The age at which a person acquires the capacity to act in reference to certain things, which may be prior to the age of majority. Montoya De Antonio v Miller, 7 NM 289, 34 P 40. The age fixed by the common law, 14 years for males, 12 years for females, or the more common increased age prescribed by statute, at which a person can enter into a marriage. 35 Am J1st Mar § 16. Although the term in strictness means the age at which a person reaches his majority, which is usually twenty-one years yet in construing a will, where it appeared to be the testator's intention, it was held that the term applied to the age at which a female beneficiary would be entitled by law to receive her estate from her guardian, although that age was eighteen. See McKim v Hardy, 4 Md Ch 228, 236.