Is contract binding without full legal name?

Forums › Off topic › Is contract binding without full legal name?

Paul1977

5039 posts

Uber Geek

#259901 29-Oct-2019 13:08

If your full legal name is "Joseph Peter Smith", and you enter into a contract that has a shortened version of your name like "Joe Smith", is it still a legally binding contract?

Home: Work:
Home Work

Hammerer

2476 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2345811 29-Oct-2019 13:24

I'm no lawyer but the validity of a contract does not depend upon your full legal name being on a written contract. Logically, that would mean that we could never have unwritten contracts.

AFAIK, "legally binding" means enforceable by law: is a legal contract with offer, acceptance and consideration; does not require illegal action; is not invalidated by illegal behaviour such as fraud.

https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/contract-law

Paul1977

5039 posts

Uber Geek

#2345815 29-Oct-2019 13:33

Hammerer:

I'm no lawyer but the validity of a contract does not depend upon your full legal name being on a written contract. Logically, that would mean that we could never have unwritten contracts.

AFAIK, "legally binding" means enforceable by law: is a legal contract with offer, acceptance and consideration; does not require illegal action; is not invalidated by illegal behaviour such as fraud.

https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/contract-law

Thanks.

Can anyone who is a lawyer confirm this?

gzt

17104 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2345856 29-Oct-2019 15:07

Paul1977:
If your full legal name is "Joseph Peter Smith", and you enter into a contract that has a shortened version of your name like "Joe Smith", is it still a legally binding contract?

Not a lawyer. If you signed it, then it is legally binding on you. Having said that, there are all kinds of 'contract' and your question could be misleading.

Linux

11391 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2345862 29-Oct-2019 15:09

Of course it is

frankv

5680 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2345863 29-Oct-2019 15:15

I'd say the only point of "full name" is to clearly identify the person. It's still a contract if the full name isn't there. If the person can't be clearly identified, then the contract might not be enforceable. If there's sufficient other information (signature, address, DOB) to identify a single individual, then I'd say it would be enforceable.

BlinkyBill

1443 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#2345866 29-Oct-2019 15:21

When you Signed up for Netflix, did you use your full legal name?

dejadeadnz

2394 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#2346023 29-Oct-2019 19:42

Paul1977:

If your full legal name is "Joseph Peter Smith", and you enter into a contract that has a shortened version of your name like "Joe Smith", is it still a legally binding contract?

In the vast majority of contexts, unless the identity of one of the parties is at issue, the non-use of the full legal name is absolutely irrelevant. Even in cases where someone's name has been misspelt, provided the parties' intentions are clear (in the vast majority of cases it will be), this won't matter either.

And yes I am a lawyer.

Equinox IT

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.

Technofreak

6530 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#2346094 29-Oct-2019 21:29

It's also my understanding that even if a contract isn't signed by one or both parties but each of parties performs their obligations in accordance with those specified in the contract then that contract can be deemed to have come into effect and the requirements of that contract can be legally enforced.

Sony Xperia XA2 running Sailfish OS. https://sailfishos.org The true independent open source mobile OS
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
Dell Inspiron 14z i5

dejadeadnz

2394 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#2346107 29-Oct-2019 22:11

Technofreak:

It's also my understanding that even if a contract isn't signed by one or both parties but each of parties performs their obligations in accordance with those specified in the contract then that contract can be deemed to have come into effect and the requirements of that contract can be legally enforced.

In many situations, that does have more than an element of truth. But no one should leave themselves in this situation.

Paul1977

5039 posts

Uber Geek

#2347952 4-Nov-2019 09:42

Thanks guys.