What is the definition of consideration?

• A. A A promise to perform a legal duty
• B. B A gift without any obligation
• C. C A prior act that cannot support a contract
• D. D Bargained-for legal benefit/detriment

Answer: (D)

Consideration is the bargained-for exchange that makes a promise enforceable. It requires that something of legal value is exchanged and that the other party was induced by that exchange. The defining idea is a bargained-for legal benefit or a legal detriment—the value promised or given in return for the promise.

If you promise to perform a duty you already owe, that alone isn’t consideration because there’s no new exchange of value. A gift without any obligation has no exchange at all, so it isn’t consideration. A prior act cannot support a new contract because it wasn’t requested or exchanged as part of the promise. The essence is the mutual exchange of value in response to a promise, which is captured by the concept of a bargained-for legal benefit/detriment.