What is a contract?
Q: What is a contract?
A: A contract is an agreement or promise that the law can enforce.
Q: Are all agreements enforced by the law?
A: No, not all agreements are enforced by the law. For example, in most places, if a parent promises to take a child to get ice cream, the law will not enforce that promise as a legal contract.
Q: Do legal rules about contracts differ between jurisdictions?
A: Yes, legal rules about which promises are enforced by the law can be different in different places (or jurisdictions).
Q: Is it necessary for contracts to be written down and signed?
A: No, sometimes contracts are written down and signed by those agreeing to them but it does not always need to be. People usually sign a contract when something important or costly is being done.
Q: What happens if someone breaks a contract?
A: If someone breaks a contract, another person might sue him or her. In a lawsuit about a contract, the court will look at the contract, listen to what the people who made the contract say about it, and then make a decision about what the contract means.
Q: When do people typically sign contracts?
A: People usually sign contracts when something important or costly is being done such as when they take on a job with an employer. The contract will show what duties must be fulfilled as part of their job role and how much they will be paid for their work.
Search within the encyclopedia