Under certain circumstances, documents simply signed through the course of business may be considered contracts. Purchase orders, receipts, sales agreements and others are contracts when they are held to be legally binding. Since the contract is a written agreement between parties, it is crucial 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?

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 Cumberland County, Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania?

Although contracts are expressed in words, the agreement itself is what matters. Regardless of the language, parties to a contract are usually legally bound only according to their understanding of the contract. Since it's your understanding that matters, relying on the other party's explanation of the contract terms might lead to problems. In Cumberland County, you can find a neutral third party that is qualified to review and explain the contract. Negotiations in some specific fields, such as finance, can require unique expertise; but no matter how complicated the situation, the objective of contract law in Pennsylvania is to give legal effect to the intent of the parties involved.