Lee R. Schroeder is an Ohio licensed attorney at Schroeder Law LLC in Putnam County. He limits his practice to business, real estate, estate planning and agriculture issues in northwest Ohio. He can be reached at Lee@LeeSchroeder.com or at 419-659-2058. This article is not intended to serve as legal advice, and specific advice should be sought from the licensed attorney of your choice based upon the specific facts and circumstances that you face.
We sign various documents all the time, and what our signature means changes depending upon what’s being signed. Sometimes signing a document confirms certain facts, other times a signature is a commitment, and sometimes signatures mean absolutely nothing.
For example, signing for the delivery of an item that’s already paid for just confirms the receipt of an item. But signing a credit card slip represents a promise to pay for goods.
This weekend’s holiday centers around the Declaration of Independence and the principles it embodies. Fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence, but it was technically legitimate without any of their signatures, because it had been agreed-upon in a July 4 vote of the Continental Congress. Nonetheless, those signatures are respected for the openness and confidence they represented.
Our society often still refers to a person’s signature as his or her “John Hancock,” in honor of the signer of the Declaration of Independence who signed his name largest and most prominently near the middle of the page.
Read more about signatures and what they represent on various documents in Lee’s article in the Lima News here: Legal-Ease: Signing the Declaration of Independence then and signing receipts now
Source: LimaOhio.com, “Legal-Ease: Signing the Declaration of Independence then and signing receipts now,” by Lee R. Schroeder, July 1, 2017