Obsolete. Superceded. Null and void.

Those are words that could be used in a court of law to describe legal contracts or agreements that are no longer in effect. Stipulations become obsolete with the passing of time or when two partners break off their partnership, whether it's a business or a marriage. Procedures can be superceded by new practices when old stipulations become obsolete. Whole contracts can become null and void when one side or the other fails to live up to the agreement.

Now the happiest resolution to a contract dispute comes when one side offers the other a better deal. Take a professional athlete for example. If a team owner says, "Let's forget about the three-year, $10 million deal we have going. I want to offer you a seven-year, $50 million contract." That's a better…