It doesn’t matter how fantastic the provisions you negotiate into your documents are: if you don’t get them signed correctly they will be of little value in practice.
The requirements for valid execution vary depending on the type of document in question. You may be contracting with any number of different entities and agreeing numerous different documents. It is important that all parties understand the signing requirements to ensure all agreements are binding and cannot later be challenged.
In this blog we answer some commonly asked questions about the signing of deeds and documents.
Is there a requirement for a signature on a simple contract to be witnessed?
When you consider that many agreements can be made informally and do not even need to be in writing, it is not surprising that the execution formalities for simple contracts (as opposed to deeds) are not very onerous. Only the two parties entering into the agreement need to sign it and the signatures do not need to be witnessed.
Despite there being no legal requirement for a signature to be witnessed, it can prove helpful in evidence if a dispute arises about the validity of the agreement. However, the signature being witnessed will be of little help if a document has been signed fraudulently, as this could well mean that the signature has also been witnessed fraudulently.
Who can act as a witness to a signature?
When an individual executes a deed, their signature must be witnessed. A party to a deed cannot be a witness to another signature to that deed. Legislation does not prohibit a signatory’s spouse, co-habitee or civil partner from acting as a witness and it is also generally acceptable for an employee of a party to witness that party’s signature. However, it is best to ensure independent witnesses are sought to ensure unbiased evidence can be provided, if and when required.
There is also no prohibition against a minor acting as a witness but this can become problematic if the signature is challenged. You must at least ensure that the minor is of sufficient maturity for his or her evidence to be regarded as reliable.
