- Whatever it is, make sure it is in writing.
- It is only true if you can prove it in court.
- Death is an unfortunate side-effect of living.
Making sure you have it in writing.
A well written contract makes for good bed fellas. I find that a lot of people operate exclusively on trust when employing the services of a company, doing business with someone, loaning a friend money, or taking up employment. That trust falls away quick when the other party does not come to the table. Although you still have a bases on which to bring your civil claim, you will end up paying an attorney 2 – 3 days to prove the terms of the agreement all because you did not want to pay an attorney 2 – 3 hours to draft the agreement.
It is only true if you can prove it in court.
A he said she said situation will be resolved by having a look at the circumstantial and factual evidence surrounding the dispute. That invoice you sent, confirmation on email, or written post it notes will all help in proving your version. A written contract will always be the first point from where a court will start unravelling the dispute, but they will consider all the evidence you are able to present to a court. Whenever you enter into an agreement, verbal or in writing, make a folder for that matter and save all those little documents. You will thank me later.
Death is an unfortunate side-effect of living.
It sometimes feels like people are taken by surprise when it comes to death. It, like taxes, will always be around. Why then are so few people not making provisions for it? A valid Will saves your family a world of heartache and frustration. A simple Will, even if you leave everything to your spouse and/or children, makes dealing with your Estate 10 times easier than if there was no Will in place. Although a hard topic for most people, we need to deal with it and make sure we protect the ones we love by getting a Will in place.
The final note, you might be saving some money now by not having a contract drawn up or reviewed by an attorney, or not getting an opinion from an attorney regarding that business deal, or by not having a Will drawn up because “my wife gets everything in any event” but inevitably when (not if) a dispute arises it will end up costing you more. It’s not that attorneys are expensive, it’s that the mess we need to clean up could have been prevented.
