- Understanding the Essential Elements of a Valid and Legally Binding Contract

A contract is an official agreement between two parties. There are different types of contract, such as sale and purchase of a business agreement, partnership agreements, lease of business premises, lease of plant and equipment and employment agreements. The format can vary too. It can be face to face, written, or distance selling. The specifications of a contract involve offer and acceptance, the intention to create legal relations, lawful considerations, capacity and legal formalities such as terms and conditions.

A contract is an agreement between two or more parties which in Scotland does not need to take a specific form, as a spoken agreement is still equally as enforceable as a written contract in certain circumstances such as in most social and domestic arrangements. A contract creates a legally binding bond between the parties involved. Contracts are made everyday sometimes without even realising it from buying a coffee to buying a house.

If Seller fails to comply with this contract for any other reason, Seller will be in default and Buyer may, as Buyer's sole and exclusive remedy, terminate this contract and receive from Seller the deposit, thereby releasing both parties from the contract.

This paper is composed for the individual assignment for week 1 of the MBA 633 Legal Issues in the Workplace course. The topic for this assignment consists of the four sources of law used to govern businesses and how disputes can be settled. I will be providing short answers to questions related to the four sources of law.

“An implied contract is a promise made between two or more parties. Upon accepting a job at the end of an interview, the hiring party is likely to shake the new hire's hand. This is an implied contract.” (Doverspike, 2012)

Express terms are terms of the contract that are explicitly agreed on by all parties involved either in verbal or written form (James, 2014, p284)

An express contract is a contract in which the agreement of the parties is evidenced by their words, whether spoken or written. Generally, contracts may be either oral or written. However, the law requires a written agreement in specific situations. Most states have statutes that require the following types of contracts to be in writing or they will be unenforceable.

“A contract is a legally enforceable promise.” Lau, T., & Johnson, L. (2013). When people buy cell phones these days, they understand that they will be entering a legally enforceable promise.

for it to qualify as a proper contract in the eyes of the law: offer

In every employment contacts terms and conditions you will seek to find express and implied terms. They are set out in the contract, they can be usually found in the letter of appointment or in the written contact of employment. Which have been designed and mentioned either orally or written, and agreed by both the employee and employer. Some examples of express terms of a contract can be for example ones probationary period, a set time normally at the start of ones employment to monitor the progress of ones work. Other main express terms of employment are the main express terms are usually:

Contractual agreements are supposed to be consensual, and freely entered into by the parties involved. Therefore, ‘before a court enforces a relationship as a contract, the courts must have a reasonably certain basis in fact to justify binding the parties to each other.’ (St. John’s Law Scholarship Repository, no date). Resolution of whether a contract was intended to be legally binding is not determined by what the parties themselves thought or intended. Rather, a more objective stance is taken by the courts. This is known as the objective theory of contract, and essentially enables ‘the courts to look at external evidence (what the parties said and did at the time)’ (Poole, 2006, p. 34), as to objectively indicate the parties’ intentions

“A contract intends to formalize an agreement between two or more parties, in relation to a particular subject. Contracts can cover an extremely broad range of matters, including the sale of goods or real property, the terms of employment or of an independent contractor relationship, the settlement of a dispute, and ownership of intellectual property developed as part of a work for hire.” Aaron Larson (2003).

Contracts are used in many different forms and for just as many different situations within our everyday lives. Some contracts are more involved than others and for some; contracts are an essential of their success. As we continue, we will take a look at different types of contracts with the main focus on enforceable contracts. With so many elements that are incorporated into any contract, the six essential elements of enforceable contracts will be the main focus of this writing. Having a clearer understanding of the essentials of life will help prepare us for life’s curves that may come our way.

Express terms are terms which are stated and made clear to both parties. They can be spoken and written but the expression and agreement of them is what makes the expressed terms. For instance, my phone company are offering me unlimited minutes, this is an expressed term of the contract since it is communicate to me (through words).

A contract is a written or spoken agreement between two or more parties that involves the exchange of two promises, which is intended to be enforceable by law. The four basic elements are the offer, consideration, acceptance, and mutuality. When elements are broken down individually, each one is just as important as the next. If one of these elements are broken or misunderstood, it could mean result in the contractual agreement becoming not valid and end in lawsuit. The overall purpose of the contract is for legal purpose and to keep a order within an agreement.