Was I cheated?

What is the name of your state? Illinois
I was informed about three months (March, 2002) ago that my grandfather had died, and he did not leave a will. My oldest brother and young sister phoned me. They said monies and properties were to be given to us because our mother ( his daughter) also is dead. They were trying to get my birth certificate and I was to busy to get it to them. Well, a few days (May 24, 2002) ago they said that they had a check for me from the estate. I have never met an attorney, I never saw any papers, I never signed any papers. I believe my sister, brother and sister of my grandfather cheated me and three other of my siblings. My signature along with my other three sibling was forged. What legal actions can I take?

You're a guy who was "too busy" to do a simple thing like get them a birth certificate -- which delayed the handling of the estate and may have driven up costs -- and now you think they are cheating YOU. Is that paranoia? Or just nastyness?

If the estate was small, there may have been an informal small estate proceeding by affidavit. You may have gotten everything you were entitled to.

Look at the file in the county court house first. See what was involved. Then if you don't understand it, ask the relatives who did the work to explain things to you. If still feel cheated, hire a lawyer in that area to look into the matter for you .

You may be a little bit premature in making false accusations because you don't understand how the probate process works.

What evidence do you have that your signature was forged on anything?

Your signature is not needed for the estate attorneys to figure what your share of the estate is. Your signature would only be needed if there was real estate that needed to be sold. Your birth certificate is needed so the court will have official proof that you are a legal heir, so you do need to provide that as soon as possible--your state vital statistics office can expedite/hurry up getting that to you for an additional fee.

Do as the other attorney advised you--look at the probate file first, to see how they calculated your share of the estate. You don't need to take any legal actions unless your attorney reviews the probate file and if you were cheated, then you can do something about it.

DANDY DON