If you’re going to be involved in any kind of activity that might have legal consequences in the future, a most important thing for you to do, will be to have kept good records. In particular, if something should go wrong along the way of your enterprise, and a dispute with another should result, a most important thing you’re going to need will be an accurate statement of exactly what happened. If you would be involved in an auto accident, or other type of casualty, you will want to know and remember just exactly what occurred, including what you saw, how you felt, and the names and addresses of the other persons involved, including witnesses. If you have to recover with medical or another type of professional treatment, a history of your experiences and progress will be important. Write it down. It’s important. What occurred before, during and after the accident, will be critically important to your future, on a variety of levels, including the chances of a good outcome for you, and perhaps yours. If someone breaks a promise to you, and it costs you money or other legal consequences, a judge and perhaps lawyers will not know exactly what to enforce, unless the promise and the obligations that were based upon it, have been somehow recorded with certainty, and there is evidence of a mutual agreement between you and the person who would then be alleged to have let you down.
While unwritten agreements can sometimes be enforced, it is far better to have the terms of an understanding in unambiguous written form, so there will be no uncertainty with regard to what was agreed. If there is a business involved, having good records of its activity will be vital to its success, as will be a detailed description of just what makes your enterprise and its product so different from other organizations and products, such that its unique existence should have legal protection from the misappropriation or unfair competition of others. If a governmental agency, like the IRS or the Department of Labor, should come calling, the presence of regularly kept records maintained by a person actually employed for that purpose, will be expected and vital to accountability. A good definition for the Law, itself, could be, “that which is written.” So, write it down. It’s important.
Law Office of William R. Lively and Associates are located at 23929 W. Valencia Boulevard, Suite 411 in Valencia. For more information, please call 661-287-3600 and visit www.livelylegal.com.