After a recent close call with a business agreement, you want to ensure you do not encounter a near-disagreement in the future. How can you avoid the often-lengthy and potentially expensive frustration of a contract dispute?
Inc.com offers tips for getting ahead of an agreement disaster. Take steps to protect your business and peace of mind.
Have a professional notarize your contracts
One way to establish legally binding agreements is to notarize business contracts. If you and other parties involved in the agreement go to court, they cannot say they did not add their signatures to the notarized agreement. By letting business partners know you notarize all your contracts, they may carefully look them over rather than signing without reading the terms. While not all notarized contracts stand up in court, notarizing the document may help avoid other legal trouble.
Look to the future
You may have the most favorable intentions and hopes in mind when first creating a contract, but you never know what lies on the road ahead. When drafting documents, think about circumstances and situations that may render an agreement powerless. For ongoing contracts, would you like to renegotiate them regularly, or should they renew automatically? Account for as many possibilities as possible and protect yourself and your business from as many variables as you can. Share your concerns and way of thinking with other parties involved in the agreement in case they want to add or modify clauses.
Identify potential loopholes that may lead to differences of opinion in business dealings. You do not have to feel blindsided by a contract dispute.
