Terms to Know: Entire Agreement (the “Merger Clause”)

Some contracts have a paragraph in the boilerplate at the end:

Entire Agreement. This Agreement contains the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the purchase of the assets described herein. Any agreement hereafter made shall be ineffective to change or modify this Agreement, in whole, or in part, unless such agreement is in writing and signed by the party against whom enforcement of the change or modification is sought. What this means is that any other agreement, understanding, negotiation, or document between the parties is null and void after the agreement with a “merger clause” is signed. If there are important understandings between the parties, make sure the agreement you are signing specifically includes those understandings, or specifically references or incorporates another document.