(IANAL) The only essential property of a contract is that it is agreed upon by both (all) parties. The purpose of paper, much less well-formated paper, is to pr

(IANAL) The only essential property of a contract is that it is agreed upon by both (all) parties. The purpose of paper, much less well-formated paper, is to provide documentary evidence should a dispute arise. Verbal and even implicit contracts technically have the same legal weight as anything a lawyer writes up and prints out. It's just harder to prove that the agreement took place and what the precise terms were.