What makes a contract a contract? Is it the legal prose, the professional typesetting, or the date across the top? 2? To the best of my understanding, you select the date of the most recent signature. This is, after all, when the contract became a contract. Let me show you.
Suppose you have two people who are signing a contract. The contract is written up, and includes a date at the top, "August 27, 2021”. Below, one of the parties has signed it, and dated their signature as August 27, 2021. However, the second individual doesn’t sign it until a day later: August 28, 2021. If a contract needs both signatures in order to be a true, binding contract, then it follows that it does not truly become a contract until the second signature has been given. Before that event, it is simply a piece of paper with fancy words and maybe a name at the bottom.
So next time you’re left wondering, “Which date do I choose,” I would say, “Choose the date of the most recent signature.” After all, a contract is just a piece of paper until both people have signed it. Thus the date of contract would be, in my view, the day it became legal and binding: the day it actually became a contract.
For more information on this subject, please listen to The Appraiser Coach Podcast Episode:
What Makes A Fully Executable Contract?
