As the old saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” It essentially means that sometimes, taking preventative steps in life and business may save you considerable stress and hardship down the line. When it comes to business contracts, this typically rings true, so you may be able to avoid costly litigation and related legal issues by taking time and care when creating your business contracts.
If you are not careful when drafting your business contracts, you run the risk of a judge or court determining them unenforceable, which has the potential to leave you in the lurch financially. There are, however, several important steps you may want to consider taking to protect yourself and your business against potential contract disputes. These steps include:
Considering future variables
Many business owners find that it serves them well to include language in their business contracts that dictates exactly how long the contract is going to be valid. Maybe your contract is one that self-renews at certain intervals, or maybe you review it every six months or two years or what have you to make sure that it still addresses relevant issues and information and accounts for potential variables. If any circumstances would make the contract null and void, include this information in the contract.
Having contracts undergo notarization
Another effective method of reducing your chances of a contract dispute involves having a notary there when you and your employer, partner or what have you sign the document. Having a notary present makes it significantly harder for the person signing the document to argue that he or she never did. It also increases the odds that the signer is going to read the contract thoroughly and therefore clearly understand its terms.
By accounting for potential variables and having all contracts signed in the presence of a notary, you should be able to reduce the chances of finding yourself embroiled in potentially costly and time-consuming litigation.