The process of writing a contract involves a number of steps: making an offer, negotiation (a.k.a.), and acceptance. These steps may be quick and easy, or they may involve months of negotiation and redrafting.
Step One: Making the Initial Offer
Your initial offer should present what exactly you will bring to the table in exchange for exactly what you expect in return. Terms set out should be precise, clear, and unmistakable. The items in question, be they labor or property, should be described in their legal terms and broken down to specifics.
For example, if you are selling a piece of property, the properties legal description such as lot size, structures included, and exact location need to be drawn out so that both parties are thinking about the same piece of property. If the contract is describing services that will be rendered, the terms that will need to be drawn out include: who will do the work, who the work is to be done for, when the work is to be done, where the work is to be done, how fees will be charged, what fees will be charged, when payment is due, and how payment is to be delivered.
Before you present your initial offer to the other party you will need to draft a copy of the contract. To do this you may want to look at a sample of a similar contract. Sample contracts can be found online, in books, and from similar companies. Many typical contract agreement templates can be purchased and downloaded online for a small fee. You can either use a template and enter the specific terms you want, or you can draft a contract from scratch.
Whatever choice you select you will probably want to outline the terms of the contract that you desire before drafting your contract. For example you will want to describe what you want, being as specific as possible, and you will want to describe what you are willing to offer in exchange. Again be as specific as possible. You will also want to keep the sentences short and too the point. This will help to eliminate confusion and it will make the contract easier to read.
Also make sure that you use headings that are logical and that are ordered in a logical manner. This will help the reader to navigate through the contract, and it will help you identify important terms and items during the negotiation process. Make sure that names, address, etc. are all spelled correctly and labeled appropriately.
When you start writing the body of the contract make sure that you define terms that could be confusing. For example define things like professional terminology that a layperson probably won’t understand, and define abbreviations and shorthand notations so that anyone reading the contract will be able to follow what is being discussed.
Another consideration that you should make while drafting your contract, is to identify situations that "could" happen down the road. This includes litigation of the contract. To provide for this situation you should include how this situation will be handled. For example, describe who will be responsible for attorney’s fees, court costs, etc. and what remedies will be available in case one of the parties breaches the contract. You may want to provide an "out clause" that allows the other party to breach the contract legally for a fee paid to you.
On the last page of the contract you will need to provide a space for the involved parties to sign and date the contract. You may need to provide extra signing space if more than one person from each side needs to sign the document before it is accepted.
Before bringing your draft to the negotiation table it is important to proofread your document for grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Go over your outline to make sure that you covered all of the areas that you needed to, and that everything that needs to be in the contract is.