Original Signature

How to eSign a document: Original signature

do I need an original signature to have an enforceable agreement let's get started hi everybody this is Alex Barnett with contractor conflicts calm today I'm going to answer a question I got from a client just a few weeks ago and that question was do I need to be in possession of an original signature on my contract or change order or release in order to have a valid and binding agreement the short answer is no you don't and let me explain why you have a binding agreement as long as you have an agreement between you and the other side and that written document is merely the manifestation of that agreement so there are other ways that the parties can show their agreement they can verbally agree they can perform to show their agreement it doesn't always have to be a signature so if you have a signature that's great so your your concern may be but it's not an original so how do I know that it's enforceable understand that in the nearly 25 years that this firm has been in existence it is rare very rare that we run into cases where someone is arguing that the document that we are presenting into evidence is not an original or that there's a forgery it's so rare in fact that I would suggest to you that it is probably something that should be very low on your list of risks to worry about so what can you do if you wanted to increase the likelihood that you are protecting yourself because you may not have an original signature knowing of course that the that in this day and age that almost everything is electronic so as a result it's very rare that you may actually get an original signature so number one that the thing that I would recommend definitely top of the list for you is make sure that your email correspondence to and from the parties that matter in the organization are inked in the transmission of your document or request for the document and signature so for example if you are going to request that a contract to be signed you can send that request with a copy of the contract to the other side maybe the project manager the president of the company and have them sign it and send it back to you now you have not only the document itself as evidence that they signed it but in addition you have correspondence from their email address and to heed their email address that they signed it that is great evidence that they understood what the document was its meaning and that they agreed to it because now they signed it and send it back to you so keep that in mind when you are handling transactions via email as far as having actual possession of an email I warn you and caution you that just because you may have an...