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48 votes

What's the problem with red ink?

Sometimes there is a requirement that a document be "photographically reproducible" which in effect means it can be copied with a copier or imaged with microfilm. Decades ago, some ...
Gerard Ashton's user avatar
48 votes

What's the problem with red ink?

It depends on jurisdiction and purpose. In Ohio, per O.R.C. 317.114(A) an instrument or document presented for recording to the county recorder shall have been prepared in accordance with all of the ...
user6726's user avatar
  • 216k
41 votes

Does ripping up the only signed contract form invalidate it?

The contract remains valid. Most contracts don't need to be written at all. Even if yours did need to be written under the Statute of Frauds or some other law, you're saying that it was made in ...
bdb484's user avatar
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41 votes
Accepted

Do Legal Documents Require Signing In Standard Pen Colors?

No, Specific Ink Colors are not Required That is not correct. If the purple will not photocopy well, the other party might reasonably ask for a color that will. But a signature is normally only ...
David Siegel's user avatar
39 votes
Accepted

Why are ink signatures considered trustworthy?

TL;DR: You have to do something to accept a document; a signature is often used because it is simple and permanent; signature alone is often not enough (e.g. wills); claiming a false signature annuls ...
xngtng's user avatar
  • 6,233
28 votes

Does ripping up the only signed contract form invalidate it?

The only documents that lose their validity when the original is physically destroyed sufficiently are: Last Wills and Testaments (this can be overcome if it is shown that it was destroyed without an ...
ohwilleke's user avatar
  • 229k
22 votes

What's the problem with red ink?

I have no idea where that notion came from. I am reasonably sure that a signature in red ink, or green ink, or any other unusual color, is just as binding as one in blue or black ink. Indeed a ...
David Siegel's user avatar
20 votes

Does ripping up the only signed contract form invalidate it?

Signing a document is totally overrated. Is there an offer, is there consideration, is there a meeting of the minds, and was there acceptance? I assume that someone gave you a piece of paper with some ...
user6726's user avatar
  • 216k
20 votes

Do Legal Documents Require Signing In Standard Pen Colors?

My best advice: purple ink is fine, unless they object, then find a color you both agree to. Everything past this point assumes an adverse relationship. Think about the dismal shape of things. A ...
Harper - Reinstate Monica's user avatar
18 votes
Accepted

Is signing a document that I have not seen legally binding?

You are entitled to at least see, and probably get a copy of, any document you sign. If you insist, they will have to show you or give you a copy. It may well be that they are supposed to give you a ...
David Siegel's user avatar
16 votes

What enforcement exists for medical informed consent?

What enforcement or outside-agency complaint mechanism exists in the case where these service providers absolutely will not show you what you're signing to, or actively take steps to prevent you from ...
ohwilleke's user avatar
  • 229k
15 votes

Can I write my signature in my conlang's script?

Legally, yes. A legally binding signature doesn't have to be written in cursive, or in English, or even be your name, or any text at all for that matter. The purpose of a signature is to identify the ...
Nuclear Hoagie's user avatar
12 votes
Accepted

Why do legal documents often have a place next to the date?

The validity of the execution of a contract is governed by the law of the place where it was signed. A location next to the date establishes that place and hence often, the governing law for the ...
ohwilleke's user avatar
  • 229k
12 votes

Why are ink signatures considered trustworthy?

Contracts don't need to be written; oral contracts are perfectly valid. However, when it comes to enforcing a contract, it's much easier to provide evidence if the contract is written and signed. ...
200_success's user avatar
10 votes

Is a contract valid if one of the party doesn't even read it?

Typical examples are contracts you "accept" online, like TOS's and privacy policies. Nobody reads that... Websites know that nobody reads their huge TOS's or privacy policies, and it has also been ...
jww's user avatar
  • 731
9 votes

Would it be feasbile to sign a document with your weaker hand and claim it wasn't your signature?

The primary question, in case of such a lawsuit, is whether you accepted the terms of the contract. You could accept the terms verbally, or you could accept them with a signature, or you could even ...
user6726's user avatar
  • 216k
9 votes

Why is signature used to sign contracts and not fingerprints?

You would be amazed at how vanishingly few the number of cases are where a signature is disputed. Signatures are easy, quick and don't require you having inky fingers all the time. They are so useful ...
Dale M's user avatar
  • 218k
9 votes

Do Legal Documents Require Signing In Standard Pen Colors?

someone told me that writing in purple is not valid on legal documents. This is likely a misconception since most forms say use blue or black ink, but there is no law regulating a valid signature. In ...
A. K.'s user avatar
  • 2,300
9 votes

International Validity of Power of Attorney Document requiring multiple signatures, individuals sign asynchronously with asynchronous notarization

Yes. This is legal and it is done routinely. It is called executing a document in counterparts. To be clear, however, as the language of the question is ambiguous on this point, each signature would ...
ohwilleke's user avatar
  • 229k
8 votes

Is an email legally binding for booking an apartment in Germany?

In most jurisdictions a message sent by email is now legally the same as one sent on paper by, say, postal mail, and a name typed at the end, or other indication of source is the legal equivalent of a ...
David Siegel's user avatar
8 votes

Is there a complexity requirement for a handwritten signature?

No for the U.S. There is no criteria for graphic complexity in the United States. A signature can still be the historical "X". If it is some representation of your name, as it ordinarily is, ...
George White's user avatar
  • 13.2k
7 votes
Accepted

What gives e-signatures legal standing/force in the United States?

Every state except New York, Illinois, and Washington has adopted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, and those three states have adopted their own electronic signature laws. At the federal level,...
cpast's user avatar
  • 24.2k
7 votes

Why is signature used to sign contracts and not fingerprints?

Fingerprinting as a reliable and widely acknowledged means of identification only dates to about 1879 CE. Signatures have been in wide use for many, many centuries and were preceded by the use of ...
ohwilleke's user avatar
  • 229k
7 votes
Accepted

What if I use a false signature on a contract?

In what way is the mark you made not your acceptance of the contract? It doesn’t matter if it’s your name, or someone else’s name, or an X or the Bluetooth logo or a caricature of Donald Trump. You ...
Dale M's user avatar
  • 218k
7 votes
Accepted

Is there a complexity requirement for a handwritten signature?

united-states A Signature need not be a name, much less the signer's name A signature can be any word or mark which represents a person, and which indicates that the signer has read and agreed to the ...
David Siegel's user avatar
7 votes

Why are ink signatures considered trustworthy?

Turning more to your question about confidence... Written signatures have a few attributes that make them more secure than you'd think. If you think about a signature, it is probably one of the most ...
Stilez's user avatar
  • 3,189
7 votes

Is it legal for someone to forge my signature with my knowledge and approval?

Law.SE encourages answers to a question asked with respect to one place's law under the laws of other jurisdictions with which the person providing the answer is more familiar. I am doing that here, ...
ohwilleke's user avatar
  • 229k
7 votes
Accepted

Is it legal for someone to forge my signature with my knowledge and approval?

greece IANAL The Greek Criminal Code says about forgery (translation mine): Whoever makes a forged or forges a document with the intent to use it to deceive someone else about a fact that can have ...
Theodore Tsirpanis's user avatar
6 votes
Accepted

What is the liability of a person who signs as a witness?

Signing as a witness will not generally make you liable on a contract. But, if you sign as a witness to something that you did not in fact witness, you could be liable for fraud or negligent ...
ohwilleke's user avatar
  • 229k

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