how to sign or execute an agreement
TRANSCRIPT
How to Sign an Agreement
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You are indicating your agreement
to the terms and conditions
contained within the document and
demonstrating your intention to be
legally bound.
By Signing or "Executing" a Contract
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Because you will be legally responsible to fulfil all the obligations of the contract.
This includes any provisions you might not understand.
It is extremely difficult to “get out” of a contract and “not reading the fine print” is an invalid reason.
Read the Contract before you sign it
If you don’t understand the agreement and the effect it will have, seek advice from a lawyer, accountant or other suitable person.
You can also negotiate terms with the other party if you are not happy with the contract.
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Seek help if you need it
It's common practice (but not a legal requirement) for the parties to initial each page of the agreement.
Doing so....
• indicates your agreement to the provisions on each page and
• makes it more difficult for the contract to be tampered with by replacing the pages.
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Initial each page
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Usually appears at the end of the contract.
The SigningPage
The formal signing page or signature panel contains a space for your signature. Sign clearly.
You may also need to complete your full name, address and other details.
Insert the specific names, dates, titles, etc. in the right spaces in clear and legible writing.
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Use clear and legible writing
How you sign an agreement depends on your legal status – Individual or Company?
In Australia, Section 127 of the Corporations Act sets out the guidelines for how a company can validly execute a contract.
The sample provides an example of both.
See our article How to Sign an Agreement for more information on company guidelines.
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Company or Individual?
An agreement can be signed separately if both parties are not present in the one location.
The first party should sign the contract and then post it to the other party.
All parties should receive copies of the signed contract. One party would retain the original.
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Signing in separate locations
Signing in counterpart means that two or more identical copies of the agreement are signed.
Each of the signed agreements are taken to be an original and are valid and binding on the signatory. The counterparts together constitute the same agreement.
It is important that you retain a copy of your own signed agreement and be provided with the original of the identical agreement signed by each of the other parties.
The agreement should contain a counterparts clause.
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Signing in Counterpart
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Sample Counterpart Clause
Use a high quality witness for your contract.
Some contracts like a Will stipulate who can or can't be a witness.
The witness does not need to read or understand the contract, they only need to verify that the person signing the agreement is who they say they are.
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Witnessing the contract
• A Justice of the Peace
• A Solicitor
• A Notary Public
• The Duty Officer in charge of a Police Station
• A Court officer.
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High quality witnesses
After signing the contract - all the parties should have either an original or full copy of the original.
Keep the contract in a safe place.
You may also want to give a copy to your lawyer or other trusted person for safekeeping.
Want more? See our article How to Sign an Agreement.
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Storing the contract
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About Us
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Go to www.rpemery.com.au or Call us on Freecall 1800 608 088
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