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. 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 generally 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 clauses of your duties under the contract. However, documents can often be too long 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. An attorney in Big Rapids, Michigan can review any contract before you sign it, whether it is a standardized document or a negotiated document. Lawyers review contracts to ensure that the intent of their client is given proper legal expression within the written documents.

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

A contract is a written form of an agreement, not the agreement itself. Contract language is cumbersome, but it is your understanding of the actual agreement that generally matters most. 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 Big Rapids who are qualified to review and explain contracts. 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 Michigan law.