As a parent, one of my jobs is to get everybody out the door in the morning. I’m kind of a Drill Sargeant about it. Get dressed. Walk out the door. It’s easy.
You do the same thing every day – my kids even wear the same uniform every day. So whyyyyyy do they find the task of getting up and out the door so difficult? I can’t just say “get ready.” I have to say “get dressed,” “put on your shoes,” “brush your teeth,” “get your back pack.” I am forced to be hyper-specific on a task I feel is relatively simple. Simple things are easy to enforce right? WRONG!
Sometimes the simplicity of something makes it get overlooked. It’s so simple, it doesn’t need an explanation. But even the simplest of terms can be catastrophic if both parties aren’t on the same page applying the same rules.
This is how I feel about Notice provisions. I find that Notice provisions in contracts tend to frequently be overlooked. They’re boring. They just lay out what address to mail something to. It’s not hard. Nothing fancy.
When I edit a contract though, notice is one of the most edited provisions. So many times there are provisions that SHOULD require notice and do not. Or the contract lacks a provision defining what constitutes notice. Is an email ok? What about a phone call? Does everyone understand the mailbox rule? How many days notice do you need?
The never ending list goes on and on.