Breach of Contract: What Is It?

Breach of Contract: What Is It?

Simply put, when someone is found to be in "breach of contract," he/she has not lived up to the stipulations listed in a contract that he/she has signed willingly. Contracts are legally binding documents, which means that failing to comply with one is a serious matter.

There are varying degrees of breaches. Someone providing a service might choose to use one type of product over another, agreed upon product, for example.

But more serious breaches are the kinds that cause a great deal of time and money for at least one of the parties involved. Maybe an agreement was made that a certain party pay another for a product, and then the first party takes the product and fails to pay. Or perhaps a company agrees to provide a consumer with a service (such as lawn care), and then never shows up to do the job. These are actionable breaches of contract, and the offended party can seek recourse in the court system if necessary.

There are a couple of ways to avoid breaches. The first is simply to make sure that you are dealing with a party that is trustworthy and proven reliable. If the other party has a history of successful relationships with others, you will feel more confident that your contract will be honored, too.

Another way to avoid a breach is to make your contract as detailed as possible. If you want the other party to agree to something, put it in writing. Make your contract clear and precise, with language that both parties understand, so that no one can claim later that a certain provision was too confusing to follow.

Finally, get witnesses to sign the document along with the parties (notary publics, if possible), so that there is outside proof that all parties entered into this agreement with free will.