It’s never easy to make a contractual business relationship with another company. You should never take part in it if you haven’t thought about it well. You should also ask yourself if this what you need and want and if going through it would be helpful to your company. Entering a contractual relationship is legally binding, and this is why you should never sign it haphazardly. You should be able to trust the company that you’re dealing with and know that they will take the contract as seriously as you would. So, when you draw up a legal agreement in business, you should know what to consider when drawing up a legal settlement.
You Should Consider These When You’re Going To Draw Up A Legal Contract
1. The agreement should have written proof.
You should get the deal on paper when you’re going to write up a legal business agreement. Even if the company you’re dealing does not require you to put it in writing, you still should because:
● When you’ve written the contract, you and your business partners will know how long the deal takes effects and how will you be able to avoid any disputes.
● If your contract is written, you and the other party know what to expect from each other.
● You can use written contracts as evidence, while you can’t use verbal agreements.
2. You should make the contract understandable.
Make sure that you and your business partners understand the contract. You should use simpler words since using flowery words make the agreement less enforceable. You can make the commitment understandable by:
● Using short and clear sentences
● Utilizing numbers to indicate sections
● Make use of simple paragraphs
3. Deal only with the people in charge.
It can be difficult if you talk about your business dealings to the third party, you would need to go back and forth. It would be time-consuming, and you still have to confirm everything with the person in charge. However, it would be easier for you to directly talk with the person in charge such as a supervisor, an owner, or a manager.
4. You should never forget to put names to the parties involved.
You should have the correct legal name for everyone who takes part in the deal. If you use the proper names, you’d be assured that you can trust the people involved. Thus, you know who performs the different responsibilities that are written as part of the deal.
5. You shouldn’t forget to put everything in detail.
You should write down all the rights and responsibilities of every single party involved in the body of the agreement. You should ensure that you write everything down and never leave anything out, even if it’s a small detail. You should never depend on the verbal discussion since judges will only work on things that have been written down.
6. Make the payment obligations specific.
Remember that you’re handling with large amounts of money, and if not done well, it can make controversial legal issues. This is why you should never forget to put into writing:
● Who gives the payment to who and what the fees are for
● When will the payments be made
● What are the different methods of payments
● What kind of conditions that form the payments
7. Lay out what circumstances that can lead to the termination of the contract.
You should ensure that you take time to lay out every single condition that may cause the agreement to get terminated. You should write down how can one party cause the contract to be terminated. Make sure to write these causes:
● If you or the other party doesn’t meet their obligations under the contract
● If you or the other party lacks the capacity to perform their duties as stated in the contract
8. State the conditions that you and the other should meet.
You and the other party should be aware of the different legal conditions that you need to meet. This is why it’s essential that for you to have a lawyer when you’re drawing up a legal business contract. You need to ensure that both parties are:
● Over 18 years of age
● Mentally Competent
● Aware of the mistakes that may be made
● Wholly informed of the different elements of the contract
9. Know the different breaches that you and business partner can make.
A breach is when anyone is not able to perform any duties that have been stated in the contract without providing you a legal excuse. However, some violations can be considerable, and there are breaches that can cause the agreement to be terminated. These breaches can terminate the contract:
● One or more of the parties caused damage/damages that are beyond repair and can’t be repaid
● One or more of the parties perform their duties poorly or is unable to perform
● One or more of the parties have difficulties in implementing their responsibilities
● One or more of the parties are negligent or unwillful to correct the breach made
10. Write down on how to settle disputes.
There are times that things can go wrong, even if you mean it or not. This is why it’s essential that you know how to settle disputes and write them down on how can you solve things when a disagreement occurs. You can try resolving disputes through:
● Meditation
● Arbitration
Conclusion
To help you to write a legal contract in business, you can try looking for examples on the internet. If you plan to make a business deal with another company, make sure that before you sign, and it has been checked by a lawyer. The lawyer will be able to work on it and make sure that every legal aspect is covered especially the provisions on workplace employment discrimination. He/she will also make sure that every signature made on the contract is notarized. Thus, if you present the final agreement to the other party/parties involved, everything is clear. To have an easy legal access to this subject, you may click here for further information.
Anne McGee
Anne McGee has over 20 years of experience writing about law subjects where she hopes her knowledge can help the common reader understand law topics that may be of relevance to their daily lives. If she’s not reading a good book, then chances are Anne is jogging during her free time.