General Agreement
Customized Agreements
Custom Agreement
Put a straightforward arrangement in writing when no standard form fits — you describe the deal, and the agreement supplies the structure around it.
Also called: simple agreement between two parties, write your own contract, mutual agreement document.
What you walk away with
A clean multi-page PDF and DOCX after you finish — not a web-form dump. Preview the document before you pay.
- PDF export
- DOCX export
- E-sign included
- No subscription
General contract law varies by state on formation, enforceability, remedies, limitation periods, and which terms will be read into an agreement that is silent. This form states no jurisdiction-specific rule and applies no subject-matter regime, so the governing state you name determines how it is interpreted.
Jurisdiction details
See how this document starts in your state
Choose the state where the document will be used. The state page shows the maintained coverage level, local-rule limits, and a builder link with the canonical state code already selected.
When this fits
Use this document when…
- A one-off arrangement between two people or businesses that no standard form covers
- Recording terms you have already agreed verbally, before memory diverges
- A barter, exchange, or collaboration where each side gives and receives something
- A simple ongoing arrangement that needs a start, an end, and a way out
Before you start
Information you will need
- Both parties' legal names, addresses, and contact details
- Plain background on why you are entering the arrangement
- What each party provides, and what each party receives
- Timing, performance location, and any conditions that must be met first
- Payment terms, if money changes hands
- How it ends, what happens on termination, and what counts as default
- How disputes are handled, and the governing state
What you receive
- A structured Custom Agreement with definitions, obligations, timing, and remedies
- Signature blocks with optional witness and notary acknowledgment
- Completion and signing instructions
- PDF and editable DOCX export
Document questions
Questions about this document
What is a Custom Agreement?
Put a straightforward arrangement in writing when no standard form fits — you describe the deal, and the agreement supplies the structure around it.
How do I create a Custom Agreement?
A one-off arrangement between two people or businesses that no standard form covers; Recording terms you have already agreed verbally, before memory diverges; A barter, exchange, or collaboration where each side gives and receives something
What should a Custom Agreement include?
Both parties' legal names, addresses, and contact details; Plain background on why you are entering the arrangement; What each party provides, and what each party receives; Timing, performance location, and any conditions that must be met first; Payment terms, if money changes hands
Special situations
- Do not use this for a lease, a purchase or sale, a loan, an employment matter, an insurance arrangement, or a securities transaction. Those carry required disclosures, remedies, and execution steps a general form cannot supply, and using the wrong instrument can make the agreement unenforceable.
- Real property and consumer lending are the two areas where a general form most often fails, because both are heavily regulated and both have formalities that are easy to miss.
- If a dedicated Locke Direct product covers your transaction, use it. It will contain protections this form has no way to anticipate.
- The substance is yours. This agreement supplies structure — definitions, timing, conditions, default, remedies — but what each side actually owes is what you write into it, so vagueness there stays vague in the finished document.
Frequently asked questions
When should I not use this?
For a lease, sale, loan, service engagement, settlement, real property transaction, employment matter, insurance, or securities. Each of those has subject-specific protections, disclosures, and execution requirements that a general form does not contain. If Locke Direct has a dedicated product for your situation, that is the one to use.
Is a general agreement legally binding?
A contract needs offer, acceptance, consideration, and parties capable of agreeing — none of which require a particular form. What a general document cannot do is supply the protections that specific transactions need, which is a separate question from whether it binds.
What does the background section do?
It records, in plain language, why you are entering the arrangement. It is usually the first thing read when a later term turns out to be ambiguous, so keeping it factual and neutral is worth the few minutes it takes.
Do we both need to give something?
Yes — that is consideration, and it is what separates an agreement from a promise. It does not have to be money: goods, services, access, or forbearing from something you were entitled to do all count. The agreement asks what each side provides and receives for exactly this reason.
What happens if one of us does not perform?
That is what the default and remedies article covers, alongside termination and its effects. Deciding now what counts as default, whether there is a cure period, and what happens to unpaid amounts or delivered work is far easier than deciding it once someone has already stopped performing.
Do we need witnesses or a notary?
For most general agreements, no. Both blocks are included as optional because some parties want them, and some institutions ask. Where a transaction genuinely requires notarisation, that is usually a sign it needs a dedicated document rather than this one.
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Not legal advice
Locke Direct helps structure documents and workflows. It does not replace a qualified lawyer for complex, unusual, or high-risk situations.
Last reviewed July 29, 2026.