CHAPTER 7: GET IT IN WRITING

CHAPTER 7: GET IT IN WRITING

(very important and powerful)

Take a lesson from some of the richest men in the world. How do you think Bill Gate of a tiny company called Microsoft(R) was able to out wit giant multi-million dollar compensation like Xerox(R) and IBM(R) and even the U.S. Government? It was all on paper and people did not understand what they signed and the implication of their actions. We live in a wonderful and terrible country that laws can actually be enforced. You must use this to your advantage else it will be to your disadvantage by someone else. You might not be extremely business savvy, but you don't have to be. It's a race to get away from an alligator, you just need to be front of the guy you don't want to be.

First, verbal agreements are not worth the paper they are not written on. You might as well call it a gift and kiss it good bye in your mind. If it comes back you are a lucky man. Most states have laws that even if you tape recoded your spouse swearing up and down they would do something for you. It's completely unenforceable. You can imagine like a sales man, they can say all types of thing to entice you to buy the car, but in the end it's the finance guy that sits you down and gets you to sign some 10 page document of what appears to be a foreign language as he assures you it is some standard stuff. So, go online and look up the laws on verbal agreements in your state. If they don't count for anything. Use it as another negotiation tool as a bluff.

Second, get a written agreement for every personal loans and commitments to family members or friends that you might want to have. Make them official and binding. It's not a trust issue, it's that they don't want to play by the rules and be a responsible for their actions. It's your money act like it. You would not let the car dealer tell you what you are willing to pay. The only one that can represent you is you. Without a piece of paper when you split up their debt does not just vanish (it might just come and bite you) it becomes your debt and the people obligated to you may just try and forget about their obligations like they don't know you. Go online there are plenty of templates that ensure you have the needed elements in a contract to make it enforceable in court if need be. Ideally you never will go to court, but they need to know you can in order for you to negotiate anything. If there is collateral make sure to document it, so it can't just vanish by some act of your spouse. Remember an agreement that you will do something if someone else does something. If you never get written or types communication or signature they will NEVER do it. It's not a contract, it's just an offer. Get the other person involved to communicate that they accept the agreement.

Third, make sure you understand what you are fighting to have and what is at stake. It's better to go in with everything all at once if you can then fight a hundred battles with less and less leverage.

Fourth, Make sure the agreements if money owed has your name and your's alone as the lender, so your ex-spouse does not claim half, else she will get half + half of your half aka 75% of everything. These should be tuned into cash value for negotiating for real assets/money right now if possible at the Divorce Separation Agreement negotiating table.

Last, there are many forms of written communication now a days its not all just pen and ink. It is still the strongest to have someone sign there name, but even if they don't and its just an email or text with an offer, consideration and acceptance it is a contract. One thing to be aware of is with all this technology and it convenience is that you need to retain these conversations for them to matter. Timestamps and official marks are important in validating their authenticity. I suggest using email. It's trusted, its easy to understand and search-able. Also I would suggest getting a program that backs up your email or print it out or both.

Warning: Text messages are difficult to keep track of and hard to search. There also on your phone and likely not backed up anywhere. Lose the phone or it dies and you have nothing to stand on.

*** USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. I am not a lawyer and this is not to be construed as legal advice. For any legal decision see the proper legal representative. You are the master of your soul.