What Can We Learn From A Series of Unfortunate Events?

If you recall, Count Olaf tried to trick and marry 14-year-old Violet to gain control of the Baudelaire fortune. He arranges a “play” but includes the fictional legal requirements for an actual marriage.

Violet realizes there’s a loophole. The fictional law says the document must be signed in the bride’s “own hand.” Violet is right-handed, so she deliberately signs the document with her left hand. After Count Olaf announces that they are legally married, Violet reveals what she did. Justice Strauss concludes that, under the peculiar wording of that fictional law, the marriage is invalid because Violet didn’t sign in her “own” hand.

So, what can we learn from this tale of terribleness?

We can talk all about signing requirements in the Sunshine State. Florida law is considerably less interested in which hand you use and considerably more interested in whether you intended to sign the document and whether the proper execution requirements were followed. In fact, Florida allows folks to sign documents (even a last will or trust) with an “X.” Additionally, a notary can notarize a document when an individual has a mark (or an X) as their signature. 

Fla. Stat. §117.05(14) provides the guidelines:

1. Two disinterested witnesses,
2. The notary has to include the signer’s first name and last name below their signature mark, and 
3. The notary has to print the words “his (or her) mark” below their individual’s signature mark. 

So, there you go. We learn that the State of Florida is interested in folks being able to get into agreements even if they have limitations. We also learn that unlike the Series of Unfortunate Events left-hand trick, Florida law focuses heavily on intent and proper execution, and not whether the handwriting looks like someone’s usual signature.