means, I guess, what Joe and Jack think it means and they probably have dif- 

 ferent ideas in their minds. The standard default provisions you find in 

 one of these leases is that the lease can be terminated by Joe if Jack is in 

 default — if he hasn't performed under the terms of the agreement, if he had 

 been given 30 days notice to correct them and has not done so. 



Say you have a five year lease and the lease goes on for two years and 

 cattle prices are bad and economics keep looking worse. Jack's trying to 

 meet the payment at the bank, so he shoves all the cattle he can on the 

 grass. A couple of years go by and the price of leases go up and Joe dis- 

 covers that he can lease instead of $1 per acre to Jack, for $5 per acre to 

 someone else. So he comes charging in to me and says, "I want to throw that 

 bugger out. He's overgrazing." I say, "Well, how are you going to prove 

 it?" He says, "I went out and looked at it." I say, "Did anybody else see 

 it?" "Yes," Joe said, "a friend of mine went with me and that's what it 

 amounts to." "Well, have you given him notice?" "No, I haven't given not- 

 ice." "Well, you have to give him 30 day's notice to correct it." Let's 

 assume he does give Jack 30 days notice to correct the default. He is over- 

 grazing and gets this notice in the fall of the year, you tell me how he is 

 going to correct it in 50 days. It can't be done. But that is the kind of 

 agreement you have evei*y time you walk in \inder circumstances I've described. 

 Particularly if you say, "Jim, we don't want to spend any money. Don't 

 write out a lot of legal garbage. Give us a standard lease form." 



There's a reason they say that. By the time they get into the office, 

 they're there for a reason. Joe wants that money. He's not leasing that 

 for fun. It's because he wants the income. Jack is in because he needs the 

 grass. They don't want me rocking the boat by asking questions that might 

 in some way put their business deal in jeopardy. They don't want questions 

 like, "What would happen in case of a 30 day default notice and you cannot 

 correct it?" "Just don't mess up our deal, give us something that will get 

 us going." The lawyer is going to do what you tell him. Let me make this 

 suggestion to you. If you ever find yourself at the point where you intend 

 to lease property as an owner, go see your lawyer first. Tell him what you 

 have in mind and ask him what he has in mind for legal provisions that might 

 protect you. Most lawyers that practice in Montana have a good idea of the 

 problems involved in leases and contracts for sale of land. They will have 



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