Emil's Wicked Cool Blog

So having a daughter is fantastic, but it's been interesting to see how logistics work when you can't sign your name...here are two recent logistics issues and how they needed to be handled:

1. Obtaining a passport:

• Kathryn had to get a picture taken, and show up with both Kelly and I at the passport office with photos in hand, a birth certificate showing Kathryn was born in the US and naming Kelly and I as parents, and our drivers licenses to prove we actually are the parents
  
• Once we get her passport, it is not valid until signed. The signature? One of us prints Kathryn's name and then signs our own name, adding (MOTHER) or (FATHER) after the signature. Here's the official FAQ item. Oh, and the requirements for obtaining a passport for minors.
  

2. Depositing a check (that was addressed payable to child):

• Account needs to be opened as UTMA (or UGMA if you're from a few states that don't recognize UTMA yet). Parent is custodian.
  
• Check needs to be signed by me as a custodian, payable to the bank, for benefit of the child. For Kathryn, the full check endorsement went something like this: Custodian for Kathryn payable to / FBO Kathryn

Also fun is the fact that certain things require an email address. Kathryn's email address is established now, but it will be several years before she reads her own email...