Which statement about assigning contract rights is correct?

Which statement about assigning contract rights is correct?

• A. All rights are assignable
• B. Duties are generally assignable
• C. Rights are generally assignable unless prohibited by contract or law
• D. Third-party beneficiaries never have rights

Answer: (C)

Assignability of contract rights: The fundamental idea is that the benefit you hold under a contract—your right to receive something from the other party—can usually be transferred to someone else. In practice, you can assign that right to a third party unless a restriction exists. The usual restriction is that the contract itself forbids assignment, or a law or regulation prohibits it in specific situations. This is why rights are described as generally assignable with these important caveats. Duties, by contrast, are not generally swapped to another party through assignment. What often happens is delegation of performance, where one party attempts to have someone else perform the duty, but the original party remains liable. So the statement that duties are generally assignable isn’t accurate. Third-party beneficiaries do have potential rights to enforce a contract when the contract is intended to benefit them, so saying they never have rights isn’t correct. The right to enforce can depend on the intent of the contracting parties and the legal framework in play. Putting it together, the typical rule is that rights are generally assignable unless the contract or law forbids it, with personal-service considerations and other exceptions shaping the specifics.

Assignability of contract rights: The fundamental idea is that the benefit you hold under a contract—your right to receive something from the other party—can usually be transferred to someone else. In practice, you can assign that right to a third party unless a restriction exists. The usual restriction is that the contract itself forbids assignment, or a law or regulation prohibits it in specific situations. This is why rights are described as generally assignable with these important caveats.

Duties, by contrast, are not generally swapped to another party through assignment. What often happens is delegation of performance, where one party attempts to have someone else perform the duty, but the original party remains liable. So the statement that duties are generally assignable isn’t accurate.

Third-party beneficiaries do have potential rights to enforce a contract when the contract is intended to benefit them, so saying they never have rights isn’t correct. The right to enforce can depend on the intent of the contracting parties and the legal framework in play.

Putting it together, the typical rule is that rights are generally assignable unless the contract or law forbids it, with personal-service considerations and other exceptions shaping the specifics.