All About Consideration

An Arlington business lawyer can explain the various terms that may affect your business contract. One such term that is of grave importance is “consideration.”

Definition

Consideration is something of value that can be transferred in exchange for something else of value. An Arlington business lawyer can explain that this may be something tangible or intangible. For example, it may be a promise made by one party for a promise by the other party. This is sometimes explained as being something of benefit to the recipient or something of detriment to the person giving the consideration.

Legal Requirement

In order for a contract to be enforceable, there must be consideration by both parties. After the contract is executed, the item or promise of value must be exchanged. A contract is not enforceable if it is made only out of goodwill. For example, if one person has done many nice things for another person and the recipient promises to give him a large sum of money, this “contract” is not enforceable because the two things were not exchanged for each other. The first person did nice things out of goodwill and not for compensation.

Mutual Agreement

Additionally, an Arlington contract attorney can point out that the consideration that is offered by both parties must be agreed upon by both of them. This is usually explained under the legal terms of “offer” and “acceptance.”

Modifications

If a party modifies the contract, new consideration is usually required. Therefore, if one party unilaterally changed the contract and did not provide something of value to the other party, such a modification would not be enforceable by law.

Legal Assistance

If you would like to learn more about consideration and if there was technically any consideration in your case, contact Schleifman Law, PLC by calling (703) 528-1021.