This advice goes out across the board – Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z, and even the upcoming Gen Alpha.
Let’s face it guys and gals, collectively, most of our handwriting is going to hell in a handbasket thanks to all of the typing we do these days. Handwriting has gone the way of the dodo bird. Cursive, in many cases, is not even being taught in school any longer.
This presents an issue when it comes to legal documents.
“Sign here” – a familiar phrase we hear often, but what do you do when asked? Is your “signature” an actual rendition of your name or has it become a sloppy squiggle just to get it over within a matter of seconds? I have noticed myself personally because I do write my name out, people look at me funny because it takes me more than 1 second flat.
Here is the thing. Your signature is a binding contract that means when you mark it on a paper document or even these little signature pads (where you are often told what you are signing, but not able to read it for yourself) you agree wholeheartedly to be bound by whatever it was you just marked an X by.
What if an issue arises and you now need to break that contract or deny some of the inclusions? If you have signed simply with a swipe or an X, is there any proof or doubt that it was or wasn’t you? Would you, yourself even be able to tell? If you are not able to recognize your own marking and distinguish it from what someone else may have just scribbled for you, it’s time to slow down and rethink what you are doing.
Legally binding documents need a legitimate signature
I cannot overstate the importance of reading what you are signing before you sign it. There are also two little tricks you can use if you ever are in a situation where you feel pressured to sign something and cannot figure a way out of it without marking the page. First are the ellipses (…) three dots which signify “something left unsaid” and the second is the Latin “Vi coactus” meaning “having been compelled” or signed under duress. Both can potentially save you in a court of law, but only if you have a one-of-a-kind recognizable signature in front of them.
It’s worth the time to grab a pen and paper and practice your signature
It doesn’t need to be flowery calligraphy or fancy text, but it does need to be legible, and you need to have the ability to write it the same way repeatedly.
Banks used to go by signature cards to do with drawls from accounts before everything went digital. Just because we live in a computerized age does not mean that it’s a good idea for you to conform to the point of inadvertently giving up your identity or your rights.
After all, that is exactly what identity thieves and hackers want…