People deal in and like absolutes. By this I mean that for many people, if they see it in writing it must be true, and if in a contract, it must be easily enforceable. This assumption is wrong.
In my world, everything is contracts: I am either negotiating and drafting contracts, or involved in lawsuits to enforce or defend entire contracts or specific contractual provisions. If a party breaches a contract, the non-breaching party many times believes it is a simple and fast process to win a lawsuit and collect damages (i.e. money) or enforce the terms of the contract. But a contract does not guarantee behavior, and is, at most, a guideline. If you think suing to get what you want is a sure solution, that the contract entitles you to win, you’re naïve on how litigation works. Most people are naïve because of luckily not having experience with litigation. Hopefully, if that describes you, you remain in that bubble.
Even if you do, it is good to have a general understanding of the playing field and the rules of engagement: (1) the agreements and promises in a contract only are worth the paper they are written on and depend wholly on the substance of the other party to the contract, so try to deal with people you really trust; (2) lawsuits are not fast and it can take from a few months to a few years to obtain a judgment; and (3) the financial wherewithal of the other party may be different at the end of a lawsuit than it was at the beginning, i.e. winning a judgment is one thing, collecting on the judgment is another.
The best things you can do at the front end are to know who you are dealing with, whether an individual or a company, and conduct due diligence (information gathering and or analysis), if appropriate and possible, prior to signing a contract. The due diligence may involve attorneys, accountants, engineers, appraisers, etc. It may be you really taking the time to read every line of the proposed contract. Protect yourself as best you can from the beginning because if an issue comes up, the only way to a fast resolution is through the parties agreeing to one.
