Question regarding the signature on contrats/documents

Factual Questions
1

I’m interested in knowing some facts about signing stuff, this is only out of curiosity; I’m not trying to break any law or anything like that but I just found it funny that I always use the same signature and never thought about this before; so:

Is there a law (in the states, canada, europe or any other country) that requires someone to always use the same signature? Could I just put on whatever I want on there
(I know I shouldn’t do it; but could I?

How about having half the signature always the same and the other half different each time, so it is somewhat recognizable?

Finally, could I sign a contract with a completely different signature and then later on say that I don’t recognize this document because it’s not the signature I usually use?
If I do that, I would certainly end up in court, so would I have a case if I said: “Yes I wrote something on that space but it is not my signature”

Finally, could I use something else than some sort of stylised way of writing my name as signature - could I use a derrogatory or offensive word as my signature?

2

just a quick note:

I forgot a “)”

and

by “I wrote something on that space” I mean the space where it says “Sign Here X”

3

I’ll say a few things in general terms about how the law works here.

In two situations, checks and bank withdrawals, the bank is only supposed to honor the check or withdrawal form where it actually is your signature. Doesn’t matter if it simply looks like your signature, if you can prove that you didn’t sign the form, the bank is liable.

In credit card transactions, the card issuer is liable for transactions made without your actaul signature (and you are liable for a limited sum until you report the card stolen), but if the issuer was able to show negligence on the part of the person accepting the card (e.g., John Smith signs as Mickey Mouse, and it looks nothing like the sample signature), then the issuer may have cause for action against the acceptor.

In a lot of other contract situations, a witness to the signature is required. The witness is attesting that the person known to him as “John Smith” signed the document.

Now, to your questions.

Firstly, suppose that you deliberately wrote wildly different signatures every time:

You’d run a strong risk of having your cheques bounced. Once you’d convinced the bank to pay on just about any signature, you’d have a greatly diminished chance of recovering the money from the bank in the event that someone actually did forge your signature.

Every time you used your credit card, there’d be a strong chance of having credit refused, and of having the police called.

Next, let’s suppose that you claimed that what you’d written wasn’t actually your signature:

In pretty much all situations, either it makes no difference (you’re bound to the contract), or you get nailed for fraud.

4

I agree with Desmostylus. Don’t go fooling around with your “official” signature.

During the time my own signature style was evolving and changing (hand muscles tightening in different ways while holding the pen, maybe), I went through a lot of problems regarding specimen signatures. I think the bank tellers rolled their eyes when I came in with a version different from six months before, and I don’t blame them.

Once you have your signature, stick to it. Consistency matters.

5

It’s more a question of intent, than a specific statute. If you sign differently with the intent to defaud, then that’s the legal issue.

6

When you sign a legal document such as a contract chances are that there is a witness to your signing who can vouch for the fact that it is indeed your signature if they are called upon.

7

This is kind of OT, but does anyone know of a situation where a celebrity\politician\famous person had TWO signatures, one for “public” and one from “private” use?

I ask 'cos I remember reading an article a few years back about Mick Jagger once touring a Brazilian prison. He signed autographs for some and only later found out that the people he signed for were convicted forgers. That got me wondering about people that sign random things for strangers. Then it got me wondering about how that would affect the autograph market for a given celebrity.

Anyone know??

8

Rex I don’t know if this will answer your question or not, but many celebrities have two identities. Sort of.

Example:
Performing rights organizations often list a singer/songwriters in their databases under** “name”** and “professsional name”. Like: Name – Richard Valenzuela, Professional Name – Ritchie Valens.

So, if I was a rock and roller known as Ozzy Paintbrush, I’d sign my autographs that way. My contracts might be signed as Eats Crayons (because that’s how my official government documenation identifies me). But the income I earn as Ozzy Paintbrush would get to me eventually because the performing rights organization recognizes me as both Eats and Ozzy.

As Aahala and Herman pointed out, legally, it’s also very much an issue of intent and signatory witnesses. I may sign a contract as Ozzy Paintbrush and I wouldn’t be able to deny it later on, because if I said “I’m Eats Crayons! That is not my signature because it says Ozzy Paintbrush!” I am known and publicly identifed as Ozzy, and the signatory witness could stand up in court, point to me and say he/she’d seen me put my signature – such as it is – on the document with the intent of making the document a binding contract. For me to then deny it, would be naughty and get me in trouble.

The only time issues really come up are when official government documentation is required. It would get messy at the border if half of my ID identfied me as Ozzy Paintbrush, when my passport, visa and all that jazz said I was Eats Crayons. Or if I wanted to get a mortgage, the bank might wonder why all my government issue ID says I’m Eats Crayons and I want to get everything under the name Ozzy.

So it’s often wise to do all the official business under one name only – the one that corresponds to your official ID.

A Brazilian ex-con trying to use Mick Jagger’s signature probably wouldn’t get that far unless he also had access to a whole whack of other documentation (defrauding through some kind of identity theft.)

9

If you really want to create confusion, you could always do what Chrisopher Columbus did, and keep adding stuff to your signature until it’s almost indecipherable. In its final version, Columbus’s signature looked something like:


   .s.
 .S.A.S.
   XMY
Xpo FERENS

How exactly this is supposed to mean “Chris C.” to the casual observer, I dunno.

Anyway, what Eats_Crayons said above is correct, intent is the key. You could mark the contract with a big red X instead of your signature if you like, but if you intended to authenticate it by doing so, you can’t later weasel out of the contract by claiming a defect in the signature.

10

By definition, a signature is:

  1. One’s name as written by oneself.
  2. The act of signing one’s name.

There is no mention of HOW the signature is written. So, it does not matter if you change the style of your signature so long as it is your name in your handwriting. For all intents and purposes, if you write something, especially if it’s illegible, in the spot reserved for your signature, that is probably what it will be deemed to be in a court of law, especially if you received or will receive any benefit from what you signed.

An attestor verbally verifies with the signor that what he wrote is, and is intended to be, his signature. This query not only accounts for any obscuring embellishments or doubtful legibility of the signature, but acknowledges that the signor intended to and did apply his signature to the document.

Read that again…it is a good practice for anyone to adhere to if they receive signatures regularly. If you cannot discern the person’s name from their signature, you should ask them to verbally verify that it is their signature. Just point to it and ask.

11

waw!
so I guess I won’t change my signature to f*ckenLiver just yet…

12
13

Most jurisdictions also state that you can assume any name you choose so long as there is no intent to defraud. If your name, for example, is Mortimer Lipschitz, and you prefer to be known as Dirk Manly, without going through the necessity of legally changing your name, you may begin using the Dirk Manly name – so long as you pay any bills incurred under either name, ensure that any transactions involving legal title are not obfuscated by the name you use. (E.g., if you inherit your uncle’s farm as Mortimer, you need to sell it as Mortimer or ensure that it’s clear in the paperwork transferring title that the “Dirk Manly” selling the farm is the byname adopted by the Mortimer Lipschitz who owns the farm by conveyance in the will of Horatio Lipschitz, deceased.)

14

I don’t know for sure but I’ll bet Jack Benny signed official documents as “Benny Kubelsky” (or maybe Benjamin) and George Burns as “Nathan Birnbaum.”

I understand that the Secretary of the Treasury and the the Treasurer of the United States both use a special signature for signing currency.

15

FWIW, when Jesse Ventura signed his oath of office as governor of Minnesota, he signed both James Janos, his “birth” name, and Jesse Ventura, his “public” name. I guess no one wanted a legal battle should only one name be used. I dunno what he used for legislation, however.

I myself have had to use different names, having been married multiple times. In each case, I’ve had the document notarized or at least signed in the presence of a witness so that there would be no question that it was I who signed the document. My handwriting is pretty consistent, but who needs some jerk down the road to be difficult?

Robin

16

I don’t think identity theft was the issue here, but rather the intrinsic value of the autograph. There has always been a huge market for celebrity autographs, and many less reputable dealers are not above obtaining or creating forgeries and then selling them as genuine signatures. Of course, if I were Mick Jagger, I wouldn’t be any more wary of giving my signature to a known forger than to any random person; after all, how hard could it possibly be for them to obtain a specimen from another source? Especially in this day and age, all one has to do is type “mick jagger autograph” into eBay or Google to pull up hundreds of scans.