IV.   Consensus

A Sign, or signature is the act of affixing a name, word, letter or other identifying mark of a legal person to a valid Document to attest its authenticity as witness or execute its contents by Consensus or to give it effect as surety for one’s own act. The word sign and signature comes from the Latin word signo/signatum meaning “to mark, stamp print; to seal a document; to coin or mint money; to impress, designate or note”.

A signature may be written by hand, printed, stamped, typewritten, engraved, photographed, or cut from one instrument and attached to another, and a signature lithographed on an instrument by a party is sufficient for the purpose of signing it; it being immaterial with what kind of instrument a signature is made providing it is done through legitimate use.

Legitimate use of a signature is when the man or woman affixing the signature to the valid Document is authorized in some verifiable manner to affix such a name, word, letter or other identifying mark of a particular legal person. The affixing of a signature by a man or woman who does not have proper authority to do so for a particular legal person renders such a signature null and void from the beginning.

There are primarily two forms of signature by convention being the Executor or the Trustee/Beneficiary:

(i) The Signature by Executor is by custom and convention the first name only of the legal person to whom they are executor and the letter R. (including the period) for Latin regnatum meaning "to be king, rule, reign, to be supreme lord of an estate"; and

(ii) The Signature by Trustee/Beneficiary is by custom and convention either an "X", or the full name (first name and family name) in stylized script.

By custom and function, when a signature is affixed to a document it is either to bear witness to its authenticity, grant certain rights by execution or be bound as surety to the contents of the document:

(i) A General Executor never signs their name in the manner of a Trustee/Beneficiary unless they are acting in such capacity and only ever signs as first name and the letter R. when in the context of a grant, deed and conveyance. In all other cases, an Executor never signs a document; and

(ii) A Trustee/Beneficiary signs their full name in the manner of a Trustee/Beneficiary as a witness to the authenticity of a Document or to accept full liability as surety to perform its contents.

When a man or woman is compelled by force to sign a document, such a signature shall have no legal effect. To ensure this is made clear, a man or woman may lawfully choose one of two mechanisms to physically invalidate their signature:

(i) By placing the letters V.C. anywhere within the signature, the man or woman signifies by custom the principle of Vi Coactus or "under constraint " to sign, which immediately invalidates the whole document; or

(ii) If prevented from making clear a signature is made by force, a man or woman may use an ellipsis ". . ." anywhere as part of their signature to prove that they sought to sign V.C. but were otherwise prevented.

Whether a man or woman has signed a document or not, if it can be proven that such signature was elicited under false pretense, under duress or some other fraud, then such a signature is null and void.

All documents associated with the administration of property as well as the conveyance of property such as Deeds must be properly signed and sealed.