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. An Oak Park, 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?
The words of a contract are the expression of an agreement, not the agreement itself. It is the parties' understanding of the contract as it is made that determines its legal effect, regardless of the specific words used. Since it's your understanding that matters, relying on the other party's explanation of the contract terms can lead to problems. In Oak Park, you can find a neutral third party that is qualified to review and explain the contract. Some specific fields, such as finance, pose certain demands that can be time consuming to fulfill. But no matter how complicated the negotiations, the objective of a contract is to give the intent of the parties legal effect under Illinois law.