Was the Will Forged? 5 steps to find out if the will is a forgery

Did dad disinherit you?

Did mom leave you nothing?

Or maybe dad left you nothing in the will and left everything to his latest girlfriend. You are CONVINCED that the will you are reading is a forgery. You are CERTAIN that the signature on the will which is purportedly dad’s is a forgery. What can you do if you think the will is a forgery?

First, you need to get a probate lawyer and get into the probate fight. Get involved in the probate administration. The probate court is where you can conduct discovery, ask questions, get answers, and enforce your rights. Oh yes, if you don’t get involved in the probate, you may end up giving up your rights to object to the will at a later stage. Exercise your rights or lose them. You can’t be an ostrich: no sticking your head in the sand and ignoring things. The law does NOT help those who don’t take action. The law rewards those who exercise their rights. Sit on your rights and you can kiss them goodbye.

Two, take a stand. Get serious. You must object to the will in writing. Sadly, you only have three months to do this if you received a notice of administration. A notice of administration is a formal letter and court filed papers sent to you to either get you moving or get you trapped. It tells you who the estate is being run by, and that you have 3 months to object to the will….. NOT years! Three months. On vacation after you get notice? Tough luck. In the hospital after you get notice? Too bad. Lazy? Forget it. Get serious or get out.

Three, learn about the forgery. Conduct discovery. Find out who prepared the will: a lawyer? The long time lawyer of the your deceased father? Or a new lawyer or the college roommate of the latest girlfriend? Did the girlfriend download the will from the internet? Have you checked her computer? Who are the witnesses? Where do they live? Who was the notary? You need to re-construct the signing of the will. Who was there? How did they get there?

Four, depose everyone who was involved with the forgery. Locate the two witnesses and take their deposition. Find the notary, who is registered with the state of Florida. Depose the notary. Who asked you to notarize the will? Who was there when you arrived? Where were you? How did you get there? Who asked you to be there? Who was present when you arrived? Who said what to whom? If the notary notarized a signature without being present, that’s a third degree felony. Go after the notary’s bond.

Fifth, consider a handwriting expert. To me, this is the last resort. You really need to re-construct when the will was forged, who was there and when the supposed will signing took place. If the stories don’t jive, you can “impeach” the witnesses at trial: catch them in a lie. They will not look credible or believable. If you are headed to trial, you may need a handwriting expert to give the court an expert opinion. Of course, fact testimony from people who knew your dad is even more powerful.

What’s your forged will strategy? To speak with a probate lawyer about forgery of wills for a free 30 minute conference, email michelle@pankauskilawfirm.com .

Advocate hard. Litigate smart.