An entire contract, also known as an indivisible contract, means every part of a contract must be agreed upon as a whole, and no parts can be taken out or changed. Parties using an entire contract must perform their duties before asking other parties to perform duties, and the contract may end if parties cannot do their part. Many contracts are formed between two or more parties via conversations and agreements that are not written into the contract. While some contracts allow this, the entire contract deems all outside communication invalid. This contract has many uses, including in construction and insurance.
A contract comes with a variety of clauses, responsibilities and tasks that must be performed for the contract to be satisfied. If one or more parties dislike a part of a contract after it is signed, then it normally can be modified or deleted — if everyone agrees on the change. With an entire contract, this is impossible. Each part of the contract must be maintained as a whole.
Parties that enter into a contract usually have one or more duties to fulfill, and all the parties must do their part according to the contract’s rules. With an entire contract, parties cannot ask other parties to perform duties unless they themselves have done their part. For example, if the contract specifies that someone must pay another party by a certain month if that party performs its duty, but the duty is not complete, the party cannot pressure the client to pay. Any party can halt its responsibilities if other parties are not completing their own responsibilities.
When a contract is being written up, parties usually talk to one another beforehand and may enter into verbal agreements. These agreements are typically not written into the contract, because all parties have agreed to the verbal terms and it takes time to change the contract. An entire contract does not recognize verbal agreements, only what is written in the contract itself. This means verbal agreements do not have to be satisfied, nor can they be brought up in legal proceedings.
The entire contract clause is not limited to any one industry or use; it can be used in nearly any type of contract. This is typically used in construction, insurance and entertainment. Parties usually like this contract because it keeps them from having to pay or perform duties unless the other parties also are performing their duties.