The dangers of googling contract templates online
It is incredibly easy to find sample documents online. Finding what you want in one sample and then finding what you need in another. A bit of cutting and pasting and…. voila! You have your own agreement.
As a small business owner, when your budget is probably already stretched, creating your own contracts and agreements can seem like a simple solution and a massive cost saving. After all, someone else has done the hard work and all you need to do is tweak it to suit your situation.
Until…..
A lawyer points out to you that your contract is not enforceable and is not worth the paper it is written on.
Your agreement has internal inconsistencies. One party is referred to in three different ways. Some sections make no sense. Clauses refer to incorrect clauses or clauses that don’t exist at all. There are terms that are not relevant to your business. The agreement has been signed in a party’s trading name and not legal name. And so on and so forth. There are a myriad of things that can go wrong.
That is the risk of cutting and pasting. You have ended up with Frankenstein’s monster.
Are you just going through the motions because you think you need a contract?
The questions to ask yourself are
“What is this worth to me?”
“What if things go wrong and I need to rely on this contract?”
“What if the Frankenstein contract leaves me worse off than without a contract in the first place?“
“How much will I lose if the contract is not enforceable?“
These are the real costs to consider.
Do I really need a lawyer to draft my contracts?
The short answer is no. The question is whether:
- What you have drafted is valid and enforceable;
- Your contract is favourable to you;
- You have contracted with the right person or entity;
- The words you have used in the contract have the same meaning legally;
- The language you have used in your contract is clear and unambiguous; or
- You have missed any issues.
If you are confident that you have covered all the points above, you probably have a reasonable contract.
It is your decision
Ultimately, the whole point of having a contract in place is to provide certainty, to manage risks, to offer protection. You need to make a call – Are the cost savings worth the risk of a DIY Frankenstein contract?
My advice is, at least have a lawyer review your self-drafted contract. We would be happy to assist.
