Will Contest Pro-Se

[MrMNO]

What is the name of your state? Florida
Hello,
The will contest we have filed is in the state Virginia.

Reasons that we filed:

The attorney that made the will that was entered into probate notarized his own document.

The attorney used ex-wife or possible wife (depending on date of divorce) as witness on said document and notarized her signature.

The signature on said document of same witness does not match on 2 pages. When I say it does not match, I mean they are as different as night and day.

Signatures and/or initials on footer are non-conforming. IE they are not where they should be and are when they should not.

Does this sound like we have a case? Thank You in advance for response.

 

[colourfastt]

What is the name of your state? Florida
Hello,
The will contest we have filed is in the state Virginia.

Reasons that we filed:

The attorney that made the will that was entered into probate notarized his own document.

The attorney used ex-wife or possible wife (depending on date of divorce) as witness on said document and notarized her signature.

The signature on said document of same witness does not match on 2 pages. When I say it does not match, I mean they are as different as night and day.

Signatures and/or initials on footer are non-conforming. IE they are not where they should be and are when they should not.

Does this sound like we have a case? Thank You in advance for response.

If you had referred to the Virginia Code you would have found that no notarization is required on Wills in the Commonwealth of Virginia, so points 1 & 2 have no relevance.

For point 3 it may be possible for that to be brought before a judge, but the only reference to that in the Code states -- No will shall be valid unless it be in writing and signed by the testator, or by some other person in his presence and by his direction, in such manner as to make it manifest that the name is intended as a signature; and moreover, unless it be wholly in the handwriting of the testator, the signature shall be made or the will acknowledged by him in the presence of at least two competent witnesses, present at the same time; and such witnesses shall subscribe the will in the presence of the testator, but no form of attestation shall be necessary. -- So, if both witnesses signed in the presence of each other as required then the signatures are presumed valid. The fact that they don't resemble each other is again irrelevant. In fact, my signatures are never consistant; I could sign 6 times in a row and none of the signatures will match, or for that matter even look alike.

Point 4: Virginia code does not mandate a format for the construction of a Will, therefore your statement that the initials in the footer are non-conforming has no legal basis for a challenge.

 

[justalayman]

while colorfasssts point seem valid, I think you do have some reasons to be concerned.

The one thing you did not state though. Since you infer the attorney has committed some sort of fraud, is the attorney a beneficiary of the will? If he is, then the complaints you have would be of much greater concern. If he is a disinterested party, he would have no reason to engage in such fraudulent activities and that would tend to diminish the value of any of your claims.

Although the signatures vary widely (as many peoples do as well), there are typically traceable quirks and mannerisms that are always consistant. It would require the testimony of at least one qualified handwriting expert to confirm or deny the validity of the signatures. Your talking thousands of dollars to contest at a minimal level. Is the amount of money involved worth it?

 

[Dandy Don]

How many witnesses witnessed this will?

At the time the will was signed, could the decedent have been under the influence of medications that would have affected his/her judgment or mental competency?

What is the value of this estate?

Is there the existence of a previous will that was altered or some beneficiaries names changed or deleted?

You are foolish to contest this will without consulting with a probate lawyer to have him evaluate it to see how strong or how weak of a case you have.

 

[MrMNO]

Thank you all for your input.

colourfastt: Thank you for your knowledge of the Virginia law not requiring notarization. This then will need to be addressed with the Secretary of the Commonwealth. In reading the guidelines for a Notary, his notarizing of the document and spouse being involved is against policy. It appears that this document may have caused the family harm.

We have asked that a deposition of witness be completed by the two signing witnesses to verify that both were present at signing.

While I agree with all of you on the basis that a signature will vary, I think (hope) that without a qualified analysis, I would be able to show that when signing your name in a consecutive fashion it would not vary as much as this one does. The signature looks as though it was on a different date and by another person. That is just my view and I hope to prove this doubt to the court as well.

justalayman: As far as I know at this time there would be no interest for the attorney in the will. However, discovery is in process and may prove differently.

Dandy Don There are 2 witnesses of the will. In a recent conversation with the attorney, it appears that the real estate was transferred and sold out of probate. The value of the estate before that point would be approximately 80k, without the real estate and no inventory that was filed, the estate is probably null.

The real estate transactions would be highly questionable in light of the fact that the property was put up for sale and sold in the last days of the father's life. Because he was a cancer patient and had chemo treatment, he was under heavy medication and may have been led to signing for the real estate sale.

The will as it stands has the spouse as the sole beneficiary to what estate there may or may not be at this time. However, we have a hand written letter from the deceased that states to on of the sons that money owed to his sister will be deducted from his portion of the will.

Would this letter that is dated after the will and when the deceased was of sound mind show that there was either another will that was written. Intent?

I am not arguing with any of you here, I appreciate the response and help. I hope that the letter would have some strength for argument in court, however.

Once again, thanks to all of you.