What to Do If You Think Someone Forged Your Parents’ Last Will and Testament

 

 

 

You’re probably here because you’ve just lost one of your parents, and now you’re looking at a signature that doesn’t look right.

First: you’re not alone. It’s really, really common for brothers, sisters, uncles, and even caregivers to forge wills and try to take everything. I mean everything. The house. The jewelry. The accounts. The whole estate handed to someone who had no business getting it.

Without a qualified expert and a clear legal process, a probate judge can only rule on what’s in front of them. If a forged document is what’s in front of them, that’s what determines where your parents’ estate goes.

Here’s how we work through these cases, and what you need to do.

What We Actually Do

We are forensic document examiners. We require authenticated handwriting samples and signatures of the person who passed away, and we determine whether the will was signed by them or by someone else. I’ve been doing this for decades. Even when a parent was seriously ill, had Alzheimer’s, or had Parkinson’s, we can account for those factors. It’s impossible to slip a forgery past trained eyes.

Step 1: Find the Original Document

In most probate cases, the original wet signature document is sitting at the courthouse under lock and key. In Miami-Dade County, that typically means the probate division at the courthouse on Flagler Street. If access is possible, one of our examiners will go there personally with a microscope and a camera to inspect it.

This matters because color photocopies can look exactly like original ink signatures to the naked eye. Under a microscope, they look completely different. We’ve caught forgeries that way that no one else would have caught.

Step 2: Gather the Known Handwriting Samples

Your job is to collect as many examples of your parent’s genuine handwriting as you can find. Passports, checkbooks, birthday cards, letters, visa applications, wedding certificates. Anything with their real signature. The more samples we have from across different years, the stronger the comparison.

Once you have those, send them to us. We’ll compare them against the signature on the will.

Step 3: We Determine Authenticity and Tell You What We Found

Once we’ve examined the will and compared it against the known samples, we reach a conclusion. If the will is authentic, we’ll tell you. If it was forged, we’ll tell you that too, in writing, in a declaration that can be filed with the court.

If you need us in the courtroom, we’ll be there. Whether you work with me directly or with another one of our qualified examiners, the process is the same. To prove a forgery in court, you need a court-qualified forensic document examiner who can testify. Without that, it’s your word against theirs.

What This Process Looks Like in Practice

From initial review to written declaration, most will forgery cases take two to three weeks. If the case is heading to trial, budget additional time for exhibit preparation and testimony.

You don’t need to have everything figured out before you call. A short consultation is enough to tell us what you’re dealing with and whether forensic examination can help. If the will is sitting in a courthouse, we can’t easily access, we’ll tell you that too and work out the logistics.

If the will was forged, we’ll find it. And we’ll help make sure your parent’s actual wishes are what the court hears.

 

FloridaHandwritingExperts.com

Or call us: 1-305-459-1544. Your first consultation is free.

 

Bart Baggett
Forensic Document Examiner | Expert Witness | Legal Consultant
The Nation’s Leading Forensic Handwriting Expert
CEO, Handwriting Experts Inc.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if my parent’s will was forged?

Signs that warrant a closer look include a signature that looks different from other examples you’ve seen, a will that appears suddenly after a death with no prior mention, changes that benefit one person significantly over others, and witnesses or attorneys who seem unfamiliar or who can’t be located. If something feels wrong, get an evaluation before the estate is settled.

 

What happens if I suspect forgery but the will has already been filed with the probate court?

You can still challenge it. A filed will is not automatically a valid one. You or your attorney can contest the will in probate court, and a forensic document examiner’s declaration is standard evidence in those proceedings. Act as quickly as possible once you suspect forgery, because probate timelines can move fast.

 

Do I need an attorney to challenge a forged will?

For the legal proceedings, yes. A probate attorney handles the court filings and strategy. Our role is to examine the document and provide expert testimony on whether the signature is authentic. The two work together: the forensic examiner establishes what the evidence shows, and the attorney uses that evidence in court. We work alongside attorneys regularly and can provide referrals in South Florida if needed.

 

What if the original will is locked in the courthouse and I can’t get to it?

That’s a common situation, and it’s solvable. In most cases, the court can be petitioned to allow supervised access for forensic examination. One of our examiners will travel to the courthouse with proper equipment. We handle this regularly for Miami-Dade and Broward County probate matters.

 

Can Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s affect the analysis?

Yes, and a qualified examiner accounts for it. These conditions can significantly alter handwriting, and any opinion on a signature from someone who was ill must account for what their writing looked like during that period. This is why comparison samples from a similar time frame matter so much. We’ve handled many cases involving elderly signatories with health conditions, and we know how to distinguish natural deterioration from signs of forgery.

 

What if there are no known handwriting samples from my parent?

This makes the analysis harder but not necessarily impossible. We’ll work with whatever you can find: checks, letters, cards, government documents, medical records. Even a limited set of samples can sometimes support a conclusion. A preliminary consultation will tell us whether what you have is sufficient.

 

How long does it take to get a written declaration of forgery?

For most will cases, two to three weeks from the time we receive the documents. If the original must be examined at a courthouse, add time for scheduling and travel. If your case has an imminent court date, tell us upfront and we’ll let you know honestly whether the timeline is workable.