In business, as in life, things don’t always work out as expected. When the parties to a contract wish to end their relationship (for any number of reasons, such as dissatisfaction with goods/services, better pricing found elsewhere, or simply a desire to walk away from the deal), a termination agreement enables them to formally cancel their contract before its expiration date[1]. In this two-part series, we will examine the basic provisions found in most termination agreements (part 1), as well as more complex provisions that are often required in more sophisticated transactions (part 2).