Not all agreements or understandings are legally binding. There are certain requirements that need to be met before an agreement or understanding can be a legally enforceable contract under the law.
For an agreement to be a legally enforceable contract, there must be an offer of terms by one party and an acceptance of those terms by the other party. Sometimes the terms are agreed upon after an offer and a series of counter-offers until both parties agree to the same terms. The terms of the contract must be sufficiently clear such that a court can determine what the parties agreed upon. But a contract is not necessarily unenforceable because an important term is omitted. For example, if a contract for the sale of goods fails to state the price of the goods to be sold, the court may set the price according to what it determines to be “reasonable.”
Additionally, there must be a promise to do something (e.g., a promise to sell goods) or refrain from doing something (e.g., a promise not to take some action for a certain period of time) given in exchange for something of value (e.g., money, property, or another promise of value to the other party).
If the legal requirements are met, the law should recognize your agreement or understanding as a legally enforceable contract. If you need help in determining whether your particular agreement is a legally enforceable contract, contact us to see if we can help you.
