[Blindtlk] Signing Your Name.

Wed Apr 20 15:28:38 UTC 2011

Hi Mary.  I wish you luck.  You couldn't have two finer gentlemen 
in mind to help.

Gary

 ----- Original Message -----
From: "Mary Mc Gee" <mmcatitude at gmail.com
To: <gwunder at earthlink.net>,"'Blind Talk Mailing List'" 
<blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Sun, 17 Apr 2011 14:59:44 -0500
Subject: RE: [Blindtlk] Signing Your Name.

Dear Gary and All;
	Believe me, we've had all of these arguments!  I've even 
told him to
go up to IDB and for sure someone there will help him.  No go!  
There will
be no signature stamp around here either, because that's an 
invitation for
more problems.
	Incidentally, I've never had a problem with the IRS other 
than this
"spouse signature" thing.  I've called with questions, I've made 
math
mistakes, all kinds of things, and people have always been very 
nice.
	I guess drastic measures are called for here:  Time to get 
Mike
Barber or Curtis Chong, both of whom my husband respects, to come 
over here
and demonstrate that blindness isn't an excuse for not writing a 
signature.

	I'll arrange for that and maybe we can get it done after the 
next
Chapter meeting when they're both near where I live.
	Thanks for all opinions and suggestions!
Sincerely,
Mary McGee

-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org 
[mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Gary Wunder
Sent: Saturday, April 16, 2011 12:04 PM
To: 'Blind Talk Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Signing Your Name.

Good morning.  I am surprised that anyone would argue that 
because they are
blind they are entitled not to know something.  I think there are 
certainly
arguments that say that because we are blind we can't know a 
thing, but
entitled to be exempt from it is quite a different matter.  I 
know lots of
blind people who sign their names.  I wouldn't say that they are 
great names.
Some people joke about the fact that I must be a medical doctor, 
but the one
thing that is true is that your signature has to be consistent 
from time to
time otherwise it can easily be argued that it is not authentic.  
If your
husband really won't learn to sign his name, maybe we need to 
find someone
who can write a good signature, habit embossed on the signature 
stamp, and
then have him use it.  Of course, if he loses his signature 
stamp, then he
has also lost his signature to those who would use it 
fraudulently.

I can understand the difficulty in not writing very legibly, but 
I can't
understand at all the refusal to use a signature guide or 
something to keep
you on the line.  I suspect you have tried putting a crease in 
the paper so
that he can follow the line.

The last thing I would say is that, of all of the government 
agencies there
are to argue with, I think the Internal Revenue Service is the 
one I would
avoid most strenuously.  They can make your life miserable.  They 
can garnish
your wages.  They can take Social Security payments.  They can 
take your
house.  Wouldn't it be a better use of time to open a case with 
rehab and get
someone to come and show you how to do a signature of which you 
could be
proud rather than to proclaim you have some right not to learn it 
because
you are blind? What about the fun of learning? What about the fun 
of
converting a lifelong barrier into an asset?

I hope this may help.

Gary

-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org 
[mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Mary Mc Gee
Sent: Friday, April 15, 2011 11:11 AM
To: 'Blind Talk Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Signing Your Name.

Dear Fellow Federationists;

            I need some original thinking here, I believe.  It's 
tax time
and, as you know, when you're married, sometimes you choose to 
file a joint
return, which both you and your spouse must sign.  I have no 
problem doing
this; I'm the one who prepares the thing with the Schedules, etc.  
My
husband, who is totally blind, can't sign his name legibly.  
(It's debatable
whether my signature is legible.)  Anyway, last year the IRS sent 
the return
back saying the "spouse's signature is not authentic".  The IRS 
accepted
mine but not his.  He refuses to use one of those signature 
guides or
anything else like that.  He writes at an angle and the letters 
overlap.  He
says he shouldn't have to know how to sign his name.  I disagree.  
Every
year at tax time we argue about this because he feels, being 
blind, he
shouldn't be expected to know how to make a legible signature.  I 
argue
that, since the majority of people working for the government are 
sighted
and the signature is your verification, you need to sign 
government
documents.

            I guess my question is two-fold:

1.  Does anyone have any suggestions with respect to convincing 
him that he
needs to make a signature?

2.  Has anyone else had a document returned, when a blind person 
signed it
and the government refused to accept the signature?

            Last near, I took the think to Sen.  Harkin's office 
and
explained the problem.  I signed release, they took over and sent 
the return
to the IRS, and I never heard another word till our refund check 
came.

            Thanks for your input.

Sincerely,

Mary L.  McGee

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