paranoid friend

[legally_challenged]

My friend recently renewed a lease for an apartment. His mother is on the lease with him because he was unable to qualify for the lease by himself. Both he and his mother signed the lease, but his mother did not initial the lease in the various numerous places she was supposed to. He didn't want to have to drive out to his mother's again so he initialed the lease for her. She doesn't care that he did this, but now he's worried that he did something illegal by "forging" her initials. Since she did sign the lease and doesn't really care that he initialed it for her could he get in trouble for this? If so what could happen to him? It doesn't seem like a big deal to me, but I'm not a lawyer so he doesn't want to just take my word for it. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[LorettaL]

It is never a good idea to forge someone's signature or initials on a binding legal document. Suppose the mother later says "I never agreed to this clause or the other. My son faked my initials. I would never have agreed to that ...." then the landlord would have cause to terminate the lease or maybe sue him for fraud or something else bad. He should sheepishly ask for another copy of the lease and have him and his mother sign and initial all the relevant parts.

 

[legally_challenged]

Thanks. One more question. If he does get another lease and nothing bad happens in the mean time should he be ok?

 

[LorettaL]

Once he signs the new lease then the old lease is no longer in effect so there shouldn't be any problems relating to the bad signatures. I would ask the landlord to tear up the old lease once the new lease is signed.