when determining whether a contract is unilateral or bilateral in nature courts will often consider whether both parties offered something specific of value in which case the contract is bilateral 
bilateral vs unilateral contractsas noted a bilateral contract by definition has reciprocal obligations that makes it distinct from a unilateral contract in a unilateral contract one party is obligated to fulfill its obligation only if and when the other party completes a specified task a unilateral contract typically involves the first party issuing a payment only on completion of the second party s task 2in legal terms that second party in a unilateral contract is not obliged to actually perform the task and may not be found in breach of contract for not doing so if it were a bilateral contract both parties would have a legal obligation an example of a unilateral contract might be a contest to find a buried treasure to win 1 million no one is obligated to hunt for the treasure but if someone finds it the contest creator is obliged to pay 1 million to that person if the nature of a contract is disputed a court will judge the merits of the claim against the content of the contract determining if one or both parties maintain an obligation or concession 