Erica Gardner Experienced litigation paralegal, graduate in legal studies. Writer at EveryNDA. Sometimes our mouths move faster than our brains and business moves faster than our keyboards. The result, at times, is that business gets moving before a contract is ever signed.

In contracts that transfer ownership, the right of ownership is deemed to have passed to the creditor on the date the contract was signed.

Jump to navigation. Cash flow crunches, dwindling purchasing power, overhead costs, borrowing and servicing costs are least of the problems which businesses might face. In the above context, there may be situations wherein parties may contemplate assigning identified dates to transactions to achieve any possible economic or accounting or administrative benefits. The reasons for an identified date may be multifarious.

This thought process and possible business requirement, throws open a very interesting question on transaction law and practice as to whether any business sale or asset sale or any form of a transaction through a bilateral agreement between parties can acquire and propose an identified date which may be prospective or retrospective. In essence, the concept of Appointed Date has attained the much needed legal backing and sanctity. Though these principles are worth referring, it may not be of use for private agreements executed between parties, as such arrangements lack the blessings and force of a Court of Law.

Private Arrangements — Retrospective or Prospective?