Legal instrument

A formally created document that records, establishes, or changes legal rights, duties, or relationships. Its legal effect depends on its form, content, and applicable law.

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Contract: A legally enforceable agreement that creates obligations between parties. Contracts are a common instrument for creating rights and duties by agreement.
Last will and testament: A legal document directing how a person’s property should be distributed after death. A will uses formal instructions to shape rights after the maker’s death.
Oral contract: A contract formed through spoken words rather than a written document. It can create legal obligations without itself being a written instrument.
Statute of frauds: A rule requiring certain agreements to be evidenced by a signed writing to be enforceable. It makes written evidence necessary for specified kinds of agreements in some jurisdictions.
Document: A recorded representation of information in written, printed, electronic, or other form. Legal instruments are documents distinguished by their intended legal effect.
Deed: A formal written instrument used to transfer property or create legal interests. A deed’s execution formalities can give it effects that an ordinary contract lacks.
Power of attorney: A legal authorization allowing one person to act on another’s behalf. This instrument creates an agency relationship and defines the authority granted.
Electronic signature: Electronic data attached to or associated with a record and used to sign it. It shows that execution need not rely on ink or a paper original.
Execution (law): The formal signing, witnessing, sealing, or delivery that completes a legal document. Defective execution can prevent an instrument from taking effect or being admitted as evidence.
Private law: The body of law governing relationships among individuals and private organizations. Many instruments arrange relationships that private law regulates.