Answer by LegalEagle™ staff, Northcote 3070 VIC

• The law works to protect people with mental illness from financial harm as well as physical harm caused by your illness. Whether you can get out of the contract depends on your particular circumstances.
• In some situations you can be so unwell that you didn't even know that what you were signing was a legal contract. If this is the case you or your legal representative could argue that you didn't have the capacity to enter into contracts at the time. This would make the contract unenforceable. It can be very difficult to prove that you did or didn't have capacity at the time.
• In other situations the person that you were contracting with might have known that you were unwell. They may have taken advantage of you and your illness. If this is the case then you can argue that the contract should be set aside because it is 'unconscionable'. It would be unfair for the person to gain an unfair advantage because of your illness.
• If a person with whom you have contracted tried to mislead or deceive you about the contents of the contract or about the lease agreement then you may argue the contract should be set aside because of misleading or deceptive conduct.
• Whether you can argue any of these situations existed depends on the particular situation. If you have evidence that on the day you entered into the contract you were unwell this might be the best option.
• In any case you should speak with a lawyer to go through some of the details of your situation. They can read the contract thoroughly for you, help you consider your financial capacity and advise you on the best course of action.