Cancellation Clause

[therosefairy]

I am trying to redo the cancellation clause in my contract, but am having trouble with the wording of it. My clause right now states act of god, illness, etc, but it doesn't cover pregnancy. Does anyone have a good way of wording this in your contract? Also, have any of you actually had this be a problem?

[Cujo_34]

act of man?

(sorry that was of no help but I really couldn't resist)

[therosefairy]

Maybe not too helpful Cujo, but very funny indeed

[Padreous]

Heres min

"Retainer will forfeit for cancellations. Retainer will be valid for 12 months if the event is postponed & alternative available date is provided. The Client will advise the Studio if any unforseen circumstances arise, such as family emergency or late payments. In case of Death prior to filming, a Death Certificate must be provided for a 50% refund of the Retainer paid. "

[sierra_nova]

Your pregnancy or the clients? If it's yours. I think it would be only fair to return the money.

Cheers,
Naomi

[NathanJK]

I don't know...if it's your pregnancy I think better planning would be in line perhaps? It just seems that one could plan around such, given that it generally lasts 9 months, takes a certain action to get the ball rolling etc. (keep in mind, this is coming from a man, and one who never wants kids on top of that...I have a jaded view!)

[notapro]

Sounds like you're talking about your own reasons for cancelling? The pregnancy thing would be tough, especially if people in your area book far ahead. I'd find a couple photographers that you can call on if you need to pass the booking on later, and be prepared to refund the deposit.

If you're talking about them cancelling and not having the deposit returned, I wouldn't worry about specifying any reasons for cancelling unless they are reasons for which the deposit will be refunded or partially refunded. Simply specify that the retainer will not be refunded under any circumstances.

[mezorn26]

act of god? It's called force majeure. as for pregnancy, that should not be in the contract. All it should say is that if for a reason other than force majeure, you are unable to perform your job, you will use every effort to find a suitable replacement, if not, a refund in full will be issued

[therosefairy]

Great thank you mezorn! And yes, notapro, where I'm from we typically book a year in advance, which can make it hard on family planning.

I understand that pregnancy takes time. If I'm booked througout a year then I want to be able to cancel (if needed) and be covered on that in my contract. And I certainly don't want to plan my family around what weddings I have coming up (in the sense that again if I'm booked throghout the year, each year, that would continually put off having children). Anyways, right now my contract states that if I cancel they of course get a full refund, and it list certain reasons for cancellation such as illness, force of nature, etc. But I guess mezorn put it well, keep the description simple. Thanks all for your input!

[John Mireles]

Don't say anything about pregnancy or any reason that you might cancel. There's a legal doctrine that I call "what's good for the goose is good for the gander." What this means is that if you can cancel for pregnancy, so can the bride. This can in turn open up a whole other can off worms so it's best not to go there.

By the way, if you want a tightly written contract specifically for wedding photographers that's been reviewed by a contract lawyer, you can save yourself a lot of time, money and grief: www.photographerstoolkit.com. The cancellation and postponement clauses has been specifically worked to take into account the vagaries of the wedding business. (FYI: This my web site.)