WHAT TO DO WHEN A PARTY TO A PROPERTY/BUSINESS AGREEMENT IS NOT LITERATE

WHAT TO DO WHEN A PARTY TO A PROPERTY OR BUSINESS AGREEMENT IS NOT LITERATE

If not properly handled, illiteracy can completely destroy a property or business agreement. This is why the law provides for what is called illiterate jurat.

An illiterate jurat is for the benefit of those who cannot read or write, ensuring they are not cheated, tricked or left in the dark about the agreement they are signing.

An illiterate jurat is a statement that must appear in any written Agreement involving an illiterate party.

It confirms that the document was read and explained to the illiterate person in a language he understands (e.g. from English to Igbo) and that he fully understood it. Only after this explanation will he put his mark.

When a person is not literate, he does not need to sign a signature. The law permits him to simply thumbprint with ink on the signature column. The thumbprint carries as much legal weight as a signature, provided the illiterate jurat is included in the Agreement.

Without an illiterate jurat, the Agreement can be challenged, declared invalid or used as proof that the illiterate person was misled. That means transactions can collapse just because of a missing jurat.

So it is important to involve a Property and Business Lawyer to draft Property and Business Agreement to ensure that everything necessary like illiterate jurat is included.

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APEX CHAMBERS, Law Firm of Property/Real Estate and Business/Corporate/Commercial Lawyers, Attorneys, Barristers, Solicitors Advocates, Legal Practitioners rendering legal services, Legal Consultants and Notary Public with Law Office in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

Phone: +234(0)7030868694 (Calls & Whatsapp)
Email: info@apexchambersglobal.com
Website: www.apexchambersglobal.com