Our firm handles a wide range of contracts with a focus on business related transactions and agreements. For instance, we can assist businesses who want to enter into an agreement by drafting a contract detailing their goals and expectations regarding their respective business relationship. We help businesses and individuals interpret questions or disputes regarding a contract through the legal analysis of an already existing agreement. We can also advise and help navigate if litigation or other legal action is necessary. Our firm also has the ability to work with specialized and nuanced contracts such as entertainment or personal services contracts. Our firm’s founding member started his career as a studio executive and attorney negotiating contracts on behalf of large corporate television and movie production studios which gives him an invaluable into the negotiating and contracting process. We are also well equipped to handle construction contracts and various other contracts.
What Are The Key Elements That Make A Contract Binding?
The key elements to forming any contract are offer, acceptance, and consideration. Consideration can be in the form of services or money. Typically, it’s the exchange of X amount of dollars in exchange for some agreed upon performance , such as building a house. Every contract is different. Therefore, depending on what the contract is, it will have its own nuances, regardless of whether it’s business, entertainment, construction, or personal services. In all the contracts that I work on, I work to ensure as many protections as possible for my clients. Some examples of client protections are disclaimers, liability shifting, and insurance coverage.
Protections can also consist of limits. For example, a limit can be a term for performance, in other words, how long a contract is going to run or the date by when a contract needs to be fully completed. Other stipulations, such as contingencies, can be embedded into a contract as well. Depending on the circumstances, a contract may state that a certain action will not be done until or unless a specified action is completed or performed. Laying out the terms and conditions of an agreement succinctly, clearly, and detailed is very important in business contracts. Thoroughly indicating what a person is going to do, exactly how much they are going to make, and the amount of time they have to do it, are some general examples of essential terms and conditions that can be included in a contract.
Is There Anything That Must Be Present In Any Contract To make It Valid?
To make a contract valid, all you really need is an offer, acceptance, and consideration. It can be as simple as walking up to somebody and saying that you want to paint their house for $500. The person can accept that offer, and the consideration would be the mutually agreed-upon exchange. Of course, in complex situations, you will want to be more specific and spell out everything in the contract. It is also important to note that negotiating terms and tweaking a contract is common. However, in Florida generally speaking, all you need to make a contract valid is an offer, acceptance of that offer, and consideration.
Do All Contracts Need To Be In Writing In Order To Be Valid?
A contract does not have to be in writing to be valid. However, having an oral agreement versus a written agreement can affect certain aspects of your contract (e.g., Florida has 4-year statute of limitations for an oral contract versus a 5-year statute of limitations for a written contract). As mentioned, all you need to have for a contract to be valid is an offer, acceptance, and consideration. It is the mutually agreed-upon exchange, the bargain, or sometimes referred to as the meeting of the minds that makes a contract valid. Of course, it is important to remember from a dispute standpoint, that a signed agreement is much easier to prove when a dispute does arrive, but it is not always a necessity.
For more information on Drafting Contracts For Clients In Florida, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (904) 316-2527 today.
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