Ways to Ruin Your Contract

Properly constructed contracts do more than make lawsuits less likely to happen. They protect your business and assets while saving you time and energy. It is therefore vital to draft a contract constructively. Here are examples of mistakes that can wreck your contracts.

According to Forbes, when you draft a contract, there are certain approaches that can actually transform these documents into liabilities. For example, some people throw everything they can think of including the kitchen sink into their contracts because they think that this covers all bases. However, this demonstrates that you are unable to compromise. When you streamline what you put into your document, it is actually beneficial because it shows that you have established your priorities. Rather than being adversarial, the other party is more likely to develop and maintain a good relationship with you because you have shown precisely what you are looking for.

Another common error you want to avoid is composing a document that does not adhere to the law of your specific jurisdiction. This can have severe consequences ranging from an unenforceable contract to fines. Plus, it is important that you constantly stay abreast of any changes to the law and modify your contract as needed. Adding these regular updates is one great way to protect your business.

Finally, to minimize the risk of contract disputes be sure to use good language when drafting contracts. No matter how informal your business is, reducing important provisions to slang or casual language is just poor drafting. Write with clarity and choose your words wisely so there is no ambiguity. And be sure to have a written document. That means you should never reduce your contracts to texts on your mobile device.