Contracts...?

Question

What does it take for a contract to become legal? If I give someone a contract and they sign it but I don't; is the contract still valid?

It's a puppy warranty.

Answer 1

This is one of those questions where 99% of the answers are going to be wrong. You should consult with an attorney in your area and not rely on the "advice" that you receive here.

In general, a contract is:

an agreement with specific terms between two or more persons or entities in which there is a promise to do something in return for a valuable benefit known as consideration. Since the law of contracts is at the heart of most business dealings, it is one of the three or four most significant areas of legal concern and can involve variations on circumstances and complexities. The existence of a contract requires finding the following factual elements: a) an offer; b) an acceptance of that offer which results in a meeting of the minds; c) a promise to perform; d) a valuable consideration (which can be a promise or payment in some form); e) a time or event when performance must be made (meet commitments); f) terms and conditions for performance, including fulfilling promises; g) performance, if the contract is "unilateral". A unilateral contract is one in which there is a promise to pay or give other consideration in return for actual performance. (I will pay you $500 to fix my car by Thursday; the performance is fixing the car by that date.) A bilateral contract is one in which a promise is exchanged for a promise. (I promise to fix your car by Thursday and you promise to pay $500 on Thursday.) Contracts can be either written or oral, but oral contracts are more difficult to prove and in most jurisdictions the time to sue on the contract is shorter (such as two years for oral compared to four years for written). In some cases a contract can consist of several documents, such as a series of letters, orders, offers and counteroffers. There are a variety of types of contracts: "conditional" on an event occurring; "joint and several," in which several parties make a joint promise to perform, but each is responsible; "implied," in which the courts will determine there is a contract based on the circumstances. Parties can contract to supply all of another's requirements, buy all the products made, or enter into an option to renew a contract. The variations are almost limitless. Contracts for illegal purposes are not enforceable at law.

Please note, "signature" is not mentioned once in the definition above.

Answer 2

We'll as far as I know, both parties need to be legally able to enter into a contract. This means they both need to be legal adults and of sound mind when they sign. Theres probably a few other stipulations, those are the ones I can remember.

Answer 3

For a contract to be legal, all parties that will be bound to the contract in some way, must sign it.

Answer 4

Both parties of a contract must sign to become binding. But, if it's a contract that only requires one signature, then it does not require your signature.

Answer 5

I believe that Skyeblue is correct - it is not binding but some contracts have to be signed in front of a notary and be notarized!@

Answer 6

In regards to a real estate transaction, If it doesn't have both sides signatures it is not a meeting of the minds and its not valid.

Answer 7

JEEZ...........BOTH PARTIES HAVE TO SIGN IN FRONT OF A WITNESS
(A NOTARY PUBLIC)