Documents simply signed through the course of ordinary business may still be considered contracts. Purchase orders, receipts, sales agreements and others can be held legally binding under certain circumstances. Since the contract is a written agreement between parties, it is necessary that you understand your end of the agreement. If you don?t, you may still be held liable.

How Can I Ensure a Contract is Good?

Reading a document before you sign it is obviously the cardinal rule. The terms outlining your duties under the contract are especially worthy of special attention. However, documents can often be too lengthy for a worthwhile read, or so commonplace that reading each one is not practical. Luckily, there are other way to make sure the contract is correct. A Mount Vernon, Illinois attorney can look over a contract before you sign it, as well as review any standardized documents that you deal with on a routine basis. In so doing, the Attorney will ensure that the legal effect of the documents matches your intent.

What if I Don't Understand a Contract in Illinois?

A written contract is the expression of an agreement between two parties; it is not the agreement itself. Regardless of any confusing contract language, you are legally bound only according to both parties' understanding of the contract. Given that your understanding of the contract is what matters, problems can result if you rely exclusively on the other party's representation of the contract terms. There are third parties in Mount Vernon who are qualified to review and explain contracts. Contract negotiations, especially in the context of specific fields such as finance, can be time consuming and difficult. But as in all contracts, the objective is to record the intent of the parties so that their agreement will be given legal effect under Illinois law.