lev-os Formal Tender Letter
Drafts a litigation-grade tender letter that serves as official notice of payment or performance, creating a protective legal record while demonstrating good faith.
Prerequisites
Gather before drafting:
- Governing contract — execution date, parties, contract number, payment/performance provisions
- Financial docs — invoices, payment schedules, purchase orders, amounts, terms
- Correspondence history — demands, default notices, cure notifications, resolution attempts (chronological)
- Tender logistics — wire instructions, bank details, delivery addresses, account numbers
- Party identification — full legal names, capacities, authorized representatives, contact info
Quick Start
Follow this section order: Header → Tender Statement → Factual Context → Legal Foundation → Consequences → Reservation of Rights → Acceptance Instructions → Signature.
Drafting Workflow
1. Header & Party Identification
- Sender and recipient: full legal name, capacity, address, email, phone
- Agreement reference: contract number, execution date, parties, specific obligation
2. Formal Tender Statement
- State this constitutes a formal legal tender under applicable law
- Specify exact amount, currency, and obligation satisfied
- Reference invoice numbers, payment schedules, or milestones from source docs
- Detail tender method (wire transfer, certified bank draft, cashier's check)
- Confirm unconditional readiness to perform per agreement terms
- Include without-prejudice language preserving all rights, defenses, and remedies
3. Factual & Chronological Context
Narrate obligation history with specific dates and document citations:
- Inception of obligation
- Prior demands and correspondence (quote relevant passages)
- Default/breach notices and cure periods
- Resolution/negotiation attempts
- Sender's compliance efforts
- Recipient failures or delays
4. Legal Foundation
- Cite specific contract provisions by section number
- Quote pertinent contractual language
- Reference applicable statutes or common law principles
- Assert tender constitutes complete, timely, and lawful fulfillment
- State acceptance discharges sender's liability in full
5. Consequences of Refusal
Notify recipient that wrongful rejection may trigger:
- Interest cessation — stops accruing from tender date
- Cost shifting — costs and attorney's fees shift to recipient
- Loss of remedies — recipient forfeits non-performance remedies
- Damages liability — liability for wrongful rejection damages
- Breach defense — establishes sender's defense to breach/default claims
6. Reservation of Rights
Reserve all rights, remedies, claims, and defenses including:
- Declaratory relief confirming tender sufficiency
- Damages for breach
- Reimbursement of costs
- Any other relief at law or in equity
7. Acceptance Instructions
- Specify how, where, and when payment/performance will be delivered
- Provide bank account details, delivery address, or transfer logistics
- Set acknowledgment deadline: 7–14 business days from letter date
- Request written confirmation of acceptance
8. Signature Block
Include full legal name, title/capacity, entity name (if applicable), and execution date. Consider notarization or witness signatures based on amount at stake.
Pitfalls
- Vague amounts — always use exact figures with currency; never approximate financial terms
- Admission of liability — do not include language construable as admitting liability beyond the specific obligation tendered
- Missing without-prejudice language — omitting this forfeits rights preservation
- Weak evidentiary grounding — every factual assertion must cite a specific document, date, or contract section
- Adversarial tone — maintain professional good faith; the letter must advance both settlement likelihood and litigation readiness
- Jurisdiction — default to U.S. law; flag state-specific tender statutes (e.g., UCC § 2-511 for goods) where relevant