Forged Wills & Probate Fraud

Our solicitors can help you defend an estate against forged Wills and other forms of probate fraud to ensure that the deceased’s wishes are respected and you receive your rightful share of their estate.

Probate fraud includes any kind of dishonest behaviour intended to secure personal benefit from the estate of someone who has passed away. This could mean:

Instructing a Will writer while pretending to be the testator
Forging the testator’s signature on a Will
Forging an entire Will
Destroying someone else’s Will without their permission.

If the instructions in a Will are significantly different to what you expected, probate fraud may have taken place.

Anyone with an interest in an estate can dispute a forged or fraudulent Will. We can help prove that fraud has taken place and make sure that the deceased’s estate is administered according to their last valid Will instead.

Our Will, Trust & Estate Disputes team is highly experienced with probate fraud cases and we’ll enlist expert testimony from forgery specialists to support your claim.

Call us today on 0345 604 4895 to find out how we can help – or fill out our online form and we’ll call you back.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who Can Contest a Forged Will?

Anyone who has an immediate or potential interest in the estate can contest a Will if they are concerned about its validity. This could include:

Family members
Friends
Business partners
Employees
Other beneficiaries.

You may be concerned that a Will is forged or otherwise fraudulent if it differs considerably from what you thought were the deceased’s intentions. For example, you may have had a pre-death agreement with the deceased that isn’t reflected in the Will.

Significant changes from a previous Will might also indicate fraud, particularly if the two Wills were written in a relatively short space of time.

If you're worried that a Will is invalid, we can advise you. Call today on 0345 604 4895 or fill out our online contact form and we’ll call you back.

How Do You Prove That A Will Has Been Forged?

We will enlist experts to analyse the Will and assess whether it has been forged. A handwriting expert, for example, can help determine whether a signature or even an entire handwritten Will has been forged.

We’ll then use this evidence to support your claim.

Fraud prevention is one reason Wills must be signed in front of two independent witnesses. These witnesses may also be able to give evidence that a Will has been forged.

If you're worried that a Will has been forged, we can advise you. Call today on 0345 604 4895 or fill out our online contact form and we’ll call you back.

What Will Happen If My Claim Is Successful?

If we prove that the deceased’s signature or an entire Will has been forged, the Will is then invalid. The estate will be administered according the deceased’s most recent valid Will from before the forgery. If there is no earlier valid Will then the estate will be distributed according to the Intestacy Rules.

Read more about what happens to an estate if there is no valid Will.

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