A process by which rights and obligations under an existing contract are extinguished and new rights and obligations are created. This is usually done by the original contracting parties entering into a contract with an incoming third party, pursuant to which the incoming party assumes all of the original party's rights and obligations. Consideration must be provided for this new contract unless the novation is documented in a deed signed by all the parties (see Standard document, Deed of novation and Practice note, Novation of contracts).