Request for Question Clarification by
denco-ga
on
20 Aug 2006 13:05 PDT
Howdy chrisvanopstal-ga,
A reminder of the "Important Disclaimer: Answers and comments provided on
Google Answers are general information, and are not intended to substitute
for informed professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, tax, legal,
investment, accounting, or other professional advice."
As the commenter points out, there is usually an exchange involved with a
contract. That said, my reading on unilateral contracts indicates that it
might be possible to have one wherein only one person is "obligated" by the
contract. Here is a definition of "unilateral contract" from the Armfield,
Harrison & Thomas, Inc. (AHT) website.
http://www.ahtins.com/glossary/uuu/u038.htm
"A unilateral contract is one where the entire context and content of the
contract is drawn by one party. The second party has only the option to
accept or not accept the contract as written. Any unclearness or ambiguity
in such contracts is construed to be the fault of the party drawing the
contract ..."
With your example, it is clearly a unilateral, and not bilateral contract,
as your mother is "writing the terms" and either you do it or don't do it.
There is nothing offered in exchange, so it can't be a bilateral contract.
My further readings indicate that you would have to actually fly to England
amd take care of her for there to be acceptance of such a contract. Also,
in your example, there is no statement of when the care would start, so
again, such an agreement could not begin until you started said care.
Unless there was some written and signed copy of such a contract, with a
period of time, etc. outlined, such a unilateral contract would not mean
much. As an example, after two weeks you could say that were done taking
care of her as you didn't agree to do it for any certain amount of time.
What you outline is not the usual unilateral contract, such as an ad run
by someone offering $20.00 for the return of a lost dog.
In order for a contract such as the one you describe to be more equitable
and probably more enforceable, it should be a bilateral contract, wherein
you would get something in exchange for taking care of your mother.
Otherwise, your mother might end up with a "promise" of sorts, and one
that could be perceived to be a broken promise because of all sorts of
circumstances. You could get a job offer or be in a relationship that
would necessitate a move, or her health would require placement elsewhere.
Does the above answer serve your needs? Thanks!
Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher
