Without an intention to be legally bound, even a clear agreement supported by consideration is not a contract — this chapter explains how that intention is found or denied.
Everything turns on two rebuttable presumptions, applied objectively rather than by reference to what either party privately believed. This chapter begins with the doctrine itself: how intention is assessed and where the burden of proof falls in domestic as opposed to commercial settings. It then examines each presumption in turn — the assumption that family and social arrangements are not binding, when separation or a commercial flavour displaces it, and the strong presumption that commercial dealings are binding unless rebutted by mere puffs or honour clauses. It closes with the specific devices that signal intention one way or the other, from 'subject to contract' labels and the conduct that can override them to comfort letters and collective agreements.
