Documents simply signed through the course of usual business may still be considered contracts. Purchase orders, receipts, sales agreements and others can be held legally binding under certain circumstances. As a legally binding agreement, a contract must be fully understood in order for its legal consequences to be appreciated. Not expecting a contract's enforcement is usually no excuse under the law.

How Can I Ensure a Contract is Good?

Before you sign anything, read what you are signing. Pay careful attention to the terms of your duties under the contract. However, documents can often be too lengthy for a worthwhile read, or so commonplace that reading each one is not practical. If so, there are still other ways you can effectively review it. A Westbrook, Maine 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 Maine?

The words of a contract are meant to simply express an agreement between two parties. They are not the agreement itself. It is your understanding of the contract that usually matters most, regardless of cumbersome contract language. Since it's your understanding that matters, relying on the other party's explanation of the contract terms might lead to problems. In Westbrook, you can find a neutral third party that is qualified to review and explain the contract. Particular fields, such as finance, may pose certain demands in contract law that can be cumbersome. But regardless of the situation, a contract under Maine law is to give legal effect to the intent of the forming parties.