[dragonwriter]

> Would this be equivalent to a "gentlemen's agreement"? Is that a thing in Canada? It was or is in England AFAIK. I don't think that would work in the US.

No, in the US as is the case in most common law countries, as long as their is evidence supporting offer and acceptabce of an agreement with intent to be bound, consideration, etc., the form of either the agreement or the offer and acceptance of the agreement isn’t important, other than specific exceptions requiring particular form for certain kinds of contracts to be valid.

> I would expect a public notary to show up with hard copies for me to sign and photo-copy my state ID but that is not consistent any more, or at least since Covid.

The federal E-Sign Act was passed in 2000 (though COVID waa a big boost in people taking advantage of it), but that made electronic signatures valid where the law required signatures for a contract, it wasn’t necessary for the general case of contract law, where signatures on a written agreement are nice to have evidence of the content of the agreement and the offer and acceptance thereof, but not in any way required.