Content

• Steps
• Advice
• Warning

When setting up a contract that is intended to be a goods or service, it is important that you make sure that the contract is legal and valid for your protection. Understanding the essentials of contract establishment and performance will help you build the right contract and comply with the law.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Forming a Contract

1. 

   Offer to enter into a valid contract. A valid contractual offer includes three elements: communication, commitment, and clear terms. This means that you must communicate your offer in writing, orally, or in other understandable formats. Your offer to enter into a contract must include a commitment to be bound by the terms of the contract, and the terms must be clear and accurate.
   • For example, you could say to your neighbor: “I want to sell you a 2010 barge for 100 million VND. I am willing to lease her finance if she pays me 20 million VND per month for 5 months ”. This commitment is communicated orally, there is a commitment (handing over the barge to a neighbor to receive money) and clear terms (a barge and the exact Vietnamese dong amount mentioned. )
   • A contracting offer must be deemed fair by the parties to be valid.This offer may also be considered an offer to enter into a "good faith" contract. Fairness is a complex concept in a contract, but in general, it means that each party will not use tricks on the other, not bend or violate the terms of the contract by means of war. trickery or word rotation.

2. 

   
   
   Consider the counterpart amount. A counterpart contract is an agreement between the parties about what the parties will do or avoid. The reciprocal amount must be fair and satisfactory.
   • For example, if the neighbor agrees to buy your barge, her counterpart is to pay you. Your counterpart is to hand the barge to her to receive a sum of money. In this case, the counterpart amount is considered fair when the value of the barge is equal to the required price.
   • A fair contract offer will not introduce uncertain or unmet conditions. For example, you would not want to impose a condition that the neighbor has to pay you 20 million VND per month in a bill of 20,000 VND, within 5 months. While your neighbor's consent to this term is legitimate, your above proposal would place an unusually heavy burden on her and may no longer be binding on a later validity dispute. of the contract.

3. 

   
   
   Negotiate to accept the offer to enter into a contract. A contractual offer will be meaningless, unless the offer is accepted by the recipient of the offer. The offeree may accept the entire offer to enter into a contract, or may change the terms of the offer. For most contracts, changing the terms of the contracting offer will negate the original offer and create a new reciprocal contracting offer.
   • For example, that neighbor might accept to buy your barge, but she wants you to finance it by accepting 10 million dong a month for 10 months. This action does not constitute acceptance of your offer to enter into but rather a new reciprocal offer to enter into, you can choose to accept or decline the offer.

4. 

   
   
   Records. If you intend to make a verbal contract - which many lawyers do not recommend - taking notes when making a contract will be in your favor when there are future disputes over the validity of the contract.
   • Taking notes will also help you draft a written contract. You don't have to rely on your mind to remember the terms because it's all over rewritten.
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Part 2 of 3: Drafting a Written Contract

1. 

   Establish a written contract. Most likely in everyday life, proposals to enter into contracts and proposals for reciprocal contracting are often communicated by mouth instead of in writing (except for real estate related transactions. ). However, it is very important that the contract be in writing. In the United States, some states require contracts to be established in writing to be considered valid. Verbal contracts, even when considered legal in the place where you live, are difficult to enforce when a party no longer acknowledges the validity of the contract.
   • In the United States, all states have determined that certain types of contracts will be covered by the "anti-fraud law." Contracts relating to land or real estate, contracts established by executors of wills to pay debts related to property, contracts related to goods valued in excess of a certain limit ( usually US $ 500), and contracts for more than one year must be in writing.
   • There is not any clear or existing evidence of oral contract. If you and the other party later disagree over the terms of the contract, no one will have proof that your opinion is correct. The court will find it difficult to make a verdict regarding verbal contracts. For this reason, any contract that includes an important, expensive or time-consuming counter-balance must be recorded.

2. 

   Naming contracts and related parties. The contract should be named (eg a simple "sales contract" or "service contract.") You should also give a specific name to the parties to the contract. If you use a contract more than once, use abbreviations (such as "buyer" and "seller") throughout the contract, provided that the legal names of the parties are shown at the beginning of the contract. .
   • For example, you might use the name "Sale Agreement" for selling your barge to a neighbor. You need to specify the name of the buyer, Nguyen Thi A, and the seller, Pham Van B, at the beginning of the contract.
   • If there is a recurring contract, such as a contract for your photography business, you may want to use acronyms such as "photographer" and "client". In this case, you can specify Nguyen Thi A (hereinafter "photographer") and Tran Van C (hereinafter "client") in the first introduction of these names. In the rest of the text, just write "photographer" and "client" instead of the specific name.

3. 

   Expected terms of contract. The contract should specify the exact terms when agreed. If you exchange goods or services, such goods or services as well as objects of exchange (money or other goods or services) must be clearly visible.
   • You will also want to provide details about the legal consequences if the communication has not been maintained completely. Specifically, consider whether there is a need for "damages" or a violation penalty for breaching the contract. There are different compensation regimes available to each different situation.
   • Damages estimate is a penalty for breaching the contract. For example, if a neighbor buys your barge but pays a late payment, a predetermined compensation term might state that she will have to pay an additional fine for each week past due. You must be careful with these terms; The court will not want to enforce terms that are too similar to penalties. A deferred payment is considered a reasonably foregone compensation; asking a neighbor to return the barge, regardless of the amount they have paid you so far, is likely to be too punitive.
   • Compensation for damage consequences is an indirect legal consequence of a breach of the contract. Usually, it is very difficult to compensate for these damages.
   • If the contract involves an object of great value or takes a long time to execute, you will want the contract to have a dispute resolution provision in arbitration or court.
   • For example, if you sell a barge to your neighbor, specify its shape, construction, model, year of manufacture as well as its name (if applicable) and its serial number if applicable. may. You should also show the exact Vietnamese Dong amount for the barge's value and payment terms. For example, you can specify that the neighbor will pay you 10 million dong per month, for 10 months, until the 100 million dong is paid in full.

4. 

   Include additional term of contract termination. Many contracts, especially long-term ones, have a termination clause. This provision allows the parties to legally "exit" the contract and not be liable for a breach of the contract.
   • For example, the lease may specify that the tenant can terminate the tenancy earlier than the term by giving 30 days notice and paying a fee.

5. 

   Conventional dates and other information. To make sure your contract is as specific as possible, make sure you define the correct dates. If you want to set a specific deadline but the events or actions don't have to happen on the exact date, you can use the phrase "on or before" before the deadline.
   • For example, you might write in a contract that your neighbor has possession of a barge after the first payment on or before June 1, 2015.She will then pay 10 million on the first day of each subsequent month, until the 100 million VND amount is paid in full on or before April 1, 2016.
   • If the contract is a contract for the sale of goods or assets, provide a complete and clear description of the goods or assets. Example: "Nguyen Thi A agrees to buy a white barge, 6.1 meters long, made in 2010 from Pham Van B."

6. 

   Create a space for the parties to sign the contract. Leave a part blank for the parties to the contract to sign and write full name. You also need enough space to date the contract.
   • You also want a notary (or at least a third person to testify) to testify for the signature and the conclusion of the contract. Even if your contract does not need to be notarized, the notarization of the contract is beneficial if a party later sues that the contract has been forged signature or changed content.
     • In the United States, a witness or notary is generally required to be present on a will, contract for the transfer of land or real property, mortgage agreement and bond, depending on state law.
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Part 3 of 3: Securing Legal Contracts

1. 

   Ensure that the parties are qualified to enter into a contract. To enter into a contract, the parties involved must be an adult (over 18 years old in most states of the United States, and at least 18 years of age under the Civil Code of Vietnam), clearly aware and do not lose mental capacity leading to not understanding the contract content.
   • Many states in the United States allow minors to enter into contracts when an adult co-sign the contract, and some states may allow minors to establish and enter into contracts themselves.
   • Under US law, a clear perception of contracting means that a person is not legally bound by a contract if that person is intoxicated or otherwise impaired. there.

2. 

   Don't try to draft a contract with an element of crime. A contract will be illegal or have no effect when the goods or services under it are illegal.
   • For example, you cannot contract with a person for sex work in a place where it is illegal to engage in sex work. Likewise, you cannot make a contract for the sale of banned substances, for example, opium.

3. 

   Don't force others to sign a contract. A contract will be void when one of the parties is forced, threatened, or extorted to enter into a contract. Both parties must voluntarily and be aware of establishing a contract to make the contract legal.

4. 

   Avoid fraudulent requests or terms in the contract. To be sure that all requirements and conditions in the contract are not deceptive. Contracts established by deception, whether intentional or not, have no legal effect.
   • For example, you cannot make a contract for the sale of a barge to a neighbor if you are not the legal owner of the barge. Asserting that the barge is in your possession when it is not is an act of fraud, and the entire contract is void.
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Advice

• You can find samples of many types of contracts online. With English contracts, sites like Rocketlawyer, LawDepot, and TidyForm all offer templates. In the United States, most contracts, such as tenancy contracts, must be prepared according to state guidelines, so make sure you understand the legal requirements where you live.
• When entering into a contract, the parties should sign the number of copies as needed so that each party can keep one original for themselves.
• Make sure your contract specifies the work to be done, the date for the debt to be paid, or the item to be sold and the compensation payable. A contract does not need to be elaborate or use "legal language" to get enforceable in Court. That contract just needs to clearly describe the terms of the contract, identify the parties to the contract, and be signed by the party bound by the contract.
• Until the offer to enter into a contract is accepted, the person making the offer, called the proponent, may withdraw or change the offer. According to the Civil Code of Vietnam, withdrawal or change of an offer to enter into a contract is accompanied by certain conditions.

Warning

• You have a legal obligation to follow the terms of any contract you enter into. You can be sued if you violate the contract, so make sure you understand the exact contents of the contract. Consult an attorney if you are unsure.