Autographing your name on a document or check seems a pretty straightforward convert. So does endorsing a check for a spouse or child who’s out of town. But in fact, all of these strengths can have unpleasant legal ramifications depending on how you do them.
The Ink-Color Have doubts
Think twice about the pen you use to sign a credit card application or examination. Opt for a pen with the wrong-color ink, and you could trigger a fraud alert or nullify the go b investigate.
Surprisingly, the wrong-color ink can be black, says Jim Angleton, president of Aegis, a corporate prepaid debit- and charge-card issuer. “If you’re administering for a credit card in person, your bank may ask you to sign the application in lewd ink.”
That’s because blue ink is harder to reproduce and easier to spot on letter-paper that’s typically filled with lots of black (fine) copy. And, Angleton says, because black ink is the most widely used printer-ink color, it’s the easiest color to identical or copy via home software and printers.
“Blue ink is preferred because when louring ink is used, someone at the bank or credit-card company may not be able to tell whether they are looking at a photocopy of a signature or an from day one inked signature,” says Cina L. Wong, CDE, a certified and court-qualified forensic handwriting trained. “It’s easier to assume that the document is ‘original’ if it is signed in blue ink.”
“We tell signers of our documents to use blue ink as it offers contrast to our applications, which is unusually beneficial should there be any ID issues in the future,” says Angleton.
Ink color make a differences on checks, too.
Signing a check or endorsing the back of a check in red ink could trigger woe by delaying payment of the check. In extreme instances of fraud prevention, it could placid void the check’s validity.
“Red ink has been considered a warning color since the Deadening War era,” says Angleton. “And the thinking that red is a warning color lingers today.” Protracted ago, bank proofers used a red pen to circle the signature on a check if they suspected it to be false. As a result, the color remains stigmatized in the financial industry.
In the days rather than color copying, red didn’t photocopy well, either. Because it would occur faint or non-existent on a photocopy, red pens were considered taboo for announcing or endorsing checks, says Wong.
“Today, scanners that peruse documents use a red laser light,” Wong explains. “When the red laser emerge considering scans the document, it turns the entire document a red color. So a signature written in red ink manifests to vanish.”
Trendy and fun ink colors such as green, pink or purple can be doubtful on checks, too. In general, most checks are imaged, or scanned, using a wonderful high-speed scanner. Some types of scanners are unable to detect or figure out such unusual colors, which means that a check clout not be properly applied or might have processing issues.
Wong articulates that’s one possible explanation for why most government documents state “will sign in black or blue ink.”
Signing for Your Spouse
The color of ink you use isn’t the at worst potential legal pitfall signatures can bring. Let’s say your spouse is out of township and you want to deposit an expense check or rebate made out to your fit together. You could find yourself in legal trouble.
Even if you’re legally joined and have a joint bank account, it’s illegal to endorse your spouse’s superstar on the back of a check, says Charles R. Gallagher III, an attorney at Gallagher & Associates in St. Petersburg, Fla. Technically, cluing someone else’s name is fraud. And that could lead to the check into being denied for payment and even to your arrest, if your spouse were to compress charges.
Many think the workaround to fraud is simply signing “For Lodge Only” on the back of the check. But Gallagher says that tactic is far from sure-fire. If your spouse gets angry, he or she still could press the permissible issue and claim you stole the money.
The safest approach is getting put down authorization that it’s OK to sign a spouse’s name on checks when he or she is impotent to. “You can always obtain a formal power of attorney to ensure the bank won’t persuade you a hassle,” says Gallagher.
Letting Someone Sign for You
Got a taste for take-out Chinese but don’t perceive like picking up the food? Don’t send your child or friend to the restaurant with your acknowledgement card.
“You sign a legal contract with the credit-card provider that entitles only you to use the credit card. You’re breaching that contract when you concede another permission to use your card,” says attorney Stephen Lesavich, Ph.D., writer of “The Plastic Effect: How Urban Legends Influence the Use and Misuse of Credit Calling-cards.”
“That breach may result in cancelation of the card based on the terms of the credit-card agree you signed,” Lesavich adds.
Your credit-card company may never have knowledge of you gave your spouse, BFF or kid your credit card to use. So the charge may canvas through the system without any issues.
But the person you send to pick up your rations could hit a snag if the merchant asks for identification, especially if the signature on the reveal all doesn’t match the one on the receipt. “A merchant could report fraudulent use to the credit-card concern,” says Lesavich. Being accused of making or permitting fraudulent faith card charges could be embarrassing to both of you. It can also result in the credit-card companions canceling the card and/or putting a hold on it based on a purchase you would normally not exhort.
You’re also opening yourself up to potential loss. Frequently permitting a son or pal to use your credit card may be viewed as you having authorized that living soul to act as your “agent.” “That person may incur additional allegations you are responsible for, but did not initially authorize them to make or intend for them to establish f get on,” says Lesavich. “That’s why it’s important to remember that you are financially accountable for all charges for any authorized use of your own credit card by you or another person.”
Signing Your Issue’s Name
Even if you’re depositing the money into your child’s in person bank account, it’s illegal to sign your – or your child’s – renown on the back of that check Grandma sends to a minor for a holiday or birthday emcee.
“Banks usually have policies on how they want a check designate out to a minor to be endorsed,” says attorney Matt Reischer, Esq., CEO, LegalAdvice.com. “Some banking institutes want the child’s name spelled out and designated parenthetically as a minor with the mother’s signature underneath.”
Other banks may want the check endorsed “For Set Only,” followed by the child’s bank account number. That’s why it’s in the most suitable way to verify with your bank about its endorsement policy to inhibit Grandma from having to issue a new check.
Once your foetus is over 18, check-signing rules are the same as for your spouse. Unless you acquire a power of attorney or written authorization, signing your child’s select on the back of a check could be viewed as fraud and lead to the bank or your issue taking legal action.
The Bottom Line
Let your spouse and grown-up girl sign their own checks – never in red ink – and get authorization if you need to bank on their behalf. Funds up on blue-ink pens and save the fancy ink colors for birthday cards. You’ll put off out of legal trouble.