Contracts: Offer, Acceptance and Legal Consideration

Contrary to what many people think, a contract does not only entail an agreement between two people but rather involves legal binding requirements. Although these legal requirements may not be stated clearly in some cases, they eventually have to be deduced from the initial circumstances of the agreement (Ollek, n.d, p. 1). There are three basic elements of a contract.

An offer in regard to contracts is a clearly stated promise to be adhered to on the condition that the terms are accepted. In simpler terms, an offer is any form of an indication such as a statement indicating the preparedness of two parties to enter into an agreement or contract under given conditions (Ollek, n.d, p. 1). The offer should be presented in such a way that provides an easy acceptance by the person receiving the offer without the need to provide any further requirements. Therefore, an indication that the person offering the offer is ready to be obligated to the terms of the agreement has to be clearly indicated. In addition, an offer must be more than just an invitation to enter a treat. However, besides commercial agreements, there are domestic agreements that may not have intentions to create legal relations although the parties should present legal binding intentions.

In a contract, an acceptance is simply an indication by the person receiving the offer that the agreement has been accepted. The acceptance does not require any conditions besides the terms of the initial offer. In case of new terms, the offer is accepted as a counter offer which is accepted on its own (Fitzroy Legal Service Inc, 2011, p. 1). This means that before a contract is made, there is the possibility of several offers and even counter offers but what really matters is the acceptance of the final offer as it establishes the contract itself. The law requires that a particular time limit is given on acceptance of the offer after which the offer is regarded as expired. On the other hand, the party giving the offer can withdraw the offer before acceptance during which the recipient of the offer must be notified instantly. Acceptance of an offer is done either as a statement or an act.

Legal considerations are applied in contracts to provide valuable support to an agreement in order to make the contract a binding one. This involves one party paying for the promise made to the other party a valuable prize which does not necessarily have to be money. Such legal considerations may take the form of interests, responsibilities, and certain rights among other valuable considerations. In simpler terms, legal consideration is the price paid by each party of an agreement to the other as a price for their promises. In addition, the payments of these prices need not be fair as parties may choose to make hard bargains during which the courts should not be involved unless there are elements of fraud (Fitzroy Legal Service Inc, 2011, p. 1). A valid legal consideration is required to be a fresh benefit and not something that had been provided for before.

Contracts are very delicate matters and therefore legal requirements have to be met. This is meant to provide valid and binding contracts and can only be met by presenting the basics of offer and acceptance with consideration. It is advisable to present contracts in writing to give precisely, the terms of the contract.

Reference List

Field, C. (2011). Elements of a contract. The law handbook. Web.

Ollek, S. (n.d). Essentials of a contract. E-Law. 2011. Web.