Consideration is the legal value exchanged in a contract. The New York booklet puts it broadly: it may be money, personal services, or even love and affection. That breadth is important because consideration is not limited to cash or commercial payment; it is the value that supports the bargain.
The term sits at the center of contract vocabulary. Without consideration, many agreements raise enforceability issues unless some other legal doctrine applies. That is why consideration often appears next to contract, lease, and statute of frauds in legal glossaries and exam materials.
Why it matters: Notaries do not determine whether consideration is legally sufficient in a disputed case, but they often see the term in agreements and property documents. Understanding it helps distinguish the underlying bargain from the notarial act attached to the document.
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