When do I need a written contract?

When do I need a written contract? Isn’t a handshake good enough?

It probably sounds pretty typical for an attorney to tell you to put everything in writing, but it’s typical for a reason!

Under Kentucky law, contracts for the payment of debts, prenuptial agreements, the sale of land, or any agreement that cannot be completed within one year MUST be in a signed writing to be enforcable.

In most situations, an oral contract is enforcable in Kentucky. However, problems can arise when the other party decides that they do not like the terms of the original agreement. Then, what you thought was a rock-solid arrangement degrades to a "he said, she said" fight. If your agreement is not memorialized in writing, it can be extremely difficult to prove what the exact terms of the deal were. This can not only blow up the whole agreement, but could force you to be pulled into an expensive legal battle, when simply putting it in writing could have saved you thousands of dollars!

We have done contracts for the sale of land, sale of personal property, residential leases, commercial leases, agricultural leases, releases of liability, settlement agreements, and even hunting rights. These are a few of the most common situations we have encountered, but a contract can be drawn up for just about any agreement you can think of. But not all contracts are made equal! Skillful contract drafting can address matters that neither party ever thought of, and it can even prevent a problem with an unforseen issue coming up later on. The best practice is to ALWAYS get your agreements memorialized into a signed writing by using a well-drafted contract.