Sometimes a person is very careful to read a contract and finds things in it that are problematic. That's when the other side may go for the sales job. Or perhaps it never even gets that far. Many people convince themselves that they are dealing with such honest, caring, and decent people on the other side that the problematic contract provisions were probably put there by an over-zealous lawyer, and the other side would never ever think of insisting on the provisions being carried out. In my experience, it's amazing how often those nice, honest, caring and decent people choose to insist on, and enforce in court, those provisions that seemed to be there only because of some lawyer's insistence.
Contracts are wonderful things.
Not as amazing as birth, love, or spiritual understanding, but nevertheless they are a wonderful tool that has allowed people to cooperate in creating and sharing prosperity. So if you're properly cautious, and remember to use competent legal help on any deal with important consequences, contracts can help you not only engage in furthering the growth and well-being of society, but also in bringing people closer together. The author Randall Kleinman, JD, CPCU, CLU, ARe, has focused on legal concerns of insurance agents for many years. He is Of Counsel to the law firm of Sachs, Drake and Kleinman of Morton Grove, Illinois.