A contract does not have to be in legalese or complicated language. Stay away from
"hereinabove", "the first party", etc. State what your agreement is in as plain terms as
possible. For example:
- Every Saturday morning beginning between 8:30 and
9:00 a.m., John Detailman will wash, wax and detail Sally Johnson's 1980 Cadillac.
John will provide his own equipment and supplies, and agrees to use non-liquid Frog's wax.
John will also detail the inside of the car, including vacuuming the
floor and upholstery,
and cleaning the dashboard and windows. As payment for these services, Sally will pay John $50 each time John does the job just described. Payment to be made the same day as the
work performed. If either John or Sally cannot be available
at that time, each will call the other no later than 5 p.m. the preceding day. If John
comes to detail the car and Sally or the car is not available and did not call John as
required, Sally agrees to pay John $10 for showing up at the job. If John fails to show at the appointed time without notifying Sally, John will perform the detail at the rate of $40. This contract can be terminated by either party at any time by giving 24 hours' notice to the other party.
If both John and Sally date and sign the above written agreement, it's an enforcable contract. Note: if the above is done verbally it is still an enforcable contract; however, putting the agreement in writing provides proof and evidence of the terms of the agreement in the event there is any later dispute. Obviously, more and more items can be included in this contract. For example, does John have to carry insurance? What happens if John uses a chemical that harms the car - who should pay? If John is a business, does John certify that he carries worker's compensation insurance? Etcetera.
To create a General Contract, complete this Form.
For our own records, please give us your name and
email address
INFORMATION REGARDING THE PARTIES TO THE CONTRACT
- Please enter the following information about the parties to this Contract:
-
WHO HAS TO DO WHAT
- Type in what the parties are promising to do. Use complete sentences and
punctuation, and be as descriptive as possible. You can use one or more
paragraphs, for example using the first paragraph to describe what the
first party will do, and the second paragraph for the second party.
If you have more than one paragraph and/or need to format paragraphs,
use the following coding to form new paragraphs, line breaks and/or
indents. If you use a paragraph insert, also
use an indent insert to keep the final document consistent.
- type in
to obtain a paragraph break;
- type in
- to obtain a paragraph indent; and
- type in
to obtain a line break.
- DO NOT USE ANY QUOTE MARKS (" OR "____"). QUOTES CAUSES THE
INFORMATION YOU INPUT TO BECOME TRUNCATED FOLLOWING THE QUOTE.
-
- Be sure to include a provision of what the Second Party is promising to do. The
Second Party has to do something; i.e., pay money, do some return services, give up
something the Second Party is entitled to, etc. If the Second Party is not
required to do anything in return, there is no independent consideration (a legal term
meaning "to do something a person is not legally required to do absent this agreement"),
and the contract would not be enforceable. Doing something you already are required to
do is not "consideration"; for example, promising to not steal a car would not be valid
consideration.
- Examples:
- Sally is driving to St. Paul this weekend to purchase vehicle
supplies at an automobile warehouse. Jane has asked Sally to purchase
a number of items from that same warehouse for Jane's benefit. A list of
the items are attached to this contract. Jane is giving Sally $1,000 to
purchase all of these items, and Sally will purchase those items for Jane,
and will deliver these items at Jane's house located at 123 Main Street,
along with an invoice for all monies spent. In return for purchasing
these items for Jane, Jane will pay Sally $75, which can be deducted
from the $1,000 when Sally delivers the items to Jane.
(OR)
- John agrees to let Sally use John's 1994 Jeep Cherokee for the months of
July and August, 2010 while John is away on vacation. Sally agrees
to pay John $200 per month for the use of the vehicle, and ten cents per mile for
each mile the car is driven in excess of 1,000 miles. The current odometer reading
is __________ miles. Sally agrees to pay for any damage to the car, except for ordinary
wear and tear and equipment malfunction or breakdown which is not the fault of Sally.
Sally agrees to return the car with a full tank of gas, and agrees to use only "Supreme"
brand gasoline with an octane rating of 92 or higher. John and Sally realize that John's
insurance may not cover Sally's use of the car, and Sally agrees to maintain minimum
insurance coverage for the car.
(OR)
- John can store his tools in Paul's garage until John and Paul agree
otherwise. A list of the tools stored is attached to this contract. As long as
Paul keeps the tools in his house, Paul can use the tools in the manner they are intended
to
be used. Paul agrees to maintain the tools properly, and will clean and oil the tools on a
weekly basis. Paul will give John access to the tools upon 2 hours notice from John
to Paul that John wants access to the tools, and John can pick-up and retrieve any or
all of his tools by giving Paul 24 hours' notice. If Paul wants John to remove
any or all of John's tools from Paul's house, Paul will give John at least 3 day's
notice to pick up his tools.
- Lastly, you may want to include a sentence on how the agreement may be
terminated. If you want to insert a termination clause, complete the
following sentence: This agreement may be terminated
as follows:
-
- For Example:
- "Either party may give the other party 4 day's written notice to terminate this
contract." (OR)
- "Either party may terminate this contract at any time." (OR)
- "This contract will terminate when the duties described above have been completed.".
- If you leave this termination space blank (for example, if the termination
provisions are included in the other language you drafted above), the final contract will have
no separate termination paragraph.
MISCELLANEOUS
If either party to this
General Contract brings a legal
action against the other party, should the party winning the lawsuit be
entitled to reasonable attorney's fees in addition to that party's other
recovery?
Yes, the final document will provide that the prevailing party's attorney's fees will be paid by the non-prevailing party.
No, the final document will state that each party will be responsible for its own attorney's fees.
This General Contract is entered into in the:
This completes the information
input for your General Contract. When you Send this Form, this program will
prepare a Summary of the General Contract for your review. Make sure that all
facts stated in the Summary are correct in all respects.
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