Legal Question in Administrative Law in California

Re: signatures

Well, sort of....

In determining whether something is a signature or not, courts will look to the intention of the party who put down what is being claimed by the other side is his signature.

For example, if I hand-print my initials at the bottom of a memo, the court will consider whether a reasonable person, in the circumstances, would have thought I intended to place my signature on that memo when I put "B.R.R.W." there in block capitals. I don't know what the judge or jury would decide; it depends on the circumstances, perhaps the content of the memo and to whom it was distributed. However, there's a good chance the decision would come back: "He signed it."

Banks and maybe some other financial businesses have, by necessity, a different criterion. Since a signature of a maker or endorser on a check is there for the purpose of authentication, if it doesn't look like what appears on the signature card, the purported signature may not be accepted. However, if the signature card shows block capitals or an imitation of Times Roman, that should constitute your valid signature when placed on a check.

So, the long and short of it is that if what's there was intended to serve as a signature, it is a signature, but if it's done in an unusual way, such intent may be more subject to question and/or harder to prove.

I'd recommend signing in cursive, but in a lawsuit if someone is claiming a printed name or even just initials are a signature, that party may win. It's a signature if a reasonable outside observer, familiar with the circumstances and using good judgment, would think it was so intended.