QUESTION
Can Spouse A sign a legal document in Spouse B's name with Spouse A's name?
Asked on Jul 16th, 2020 on Contracts - Delaware
More details to this question:
My spouse, we will call A, and I are looking to buy a home. We hired an inspector to look the house over. The contract with the inspection company is only in my name. At the inspection, the inspector asked A and only A to sign the contract. A signed by did not sign in my name. A signed with A's name. (I apologize for lack of pronouns, but I have found using "he" and "she" changes the answer I get). I asked the inspector if I needed to sign and he said no, only A needed to sign. When I brought up the fact the contract was in my name and not A's, A got upset and said A is allowed to sign A's name in place of my name on any legal document because we are married. I think this is false, but I do not know. I live in Delaware in the United States.
1 ANSWER
It is not true that a spouse can sign any contract on behelf of his/her spouse, but it is true that you can authorize anyone to sign your name and bind you. Since your spouse signed the contract in your presence and you allowed it, your spouse would likely be deemed to have been authorized to do so. Moreover, even if you were not deemed bound by the contract, your spouse almost certainly would be, having signed the contract; the fact that the printed/typed name was yours rather than your spouse's would probably be considered immateral. If your spouse had signed the contract without your knowledge or consent, you would probably not be bound (I say probably because there are sometimes circumstances where a spouse can be deemed an authorized agent, or you, by failing to protest in a timely fashion, can ratify it), but your spouse certainly would be.
Answered on Jul 16th, 2020 at 12:48 PM