What is the name of your state? New York
I am in the middle of a will/trust/estate contest in which documents were created that leave my father's estate to my older sister. Through Discovery and acquiring documents by subpoena, items turned up that contain forged signatures of my father. These include the trust and a deed.
A POA was in fact signed by my father giving all powers listed to my sister.
We know that the trust and deed were signed with my father's name by my sister. There is no reference to her signing as attorney-in-fact, and the forged signatures were notarized by an attorney attesting to the fact that the signatures are my father's.
My attorney believes that since POA was in effect, my sister could use the defense that she would have been authorized to sign my father's name, even though she did not also sign her name in her own penmanship and reference that she was acting as his agent.
Also - there were several bank withdrawals in which my sister signed only my father's name (attempting to make it look like his authentic signature) but did not sign her own name or an affidavit that she was making the withdrawal as his agent. Are these withdrawals contestable? She was named as beneficiary on some accounts, and joint holder on others.
Lastly, can my sister use POA to change an account in which I had been named as beneficiary to a new account with her named as beneficiary or joint tenant?
Thanks.What is the name of your state?
I am in the middle of a will/trust/estate contest in which documents were created that leave my father's estate to my older sister. Through Discovery and acquiring documents by subpoena, items turned up that contain forged signatures of my father. These include the trust and a deed.
A POA was in fact signed by my father giving all powers listed to my sister.
We know that the trust and deed were signed with my father's name by my sister. There is no reference to her signing as attorney-in-fact, and the forged signatures were notarized by an attorney attesting to the fact that the signatures are my father's.
My attorney believes that since POA was in effect, my sister could use the defense that she would have been authorized to sign my father's name, even though she did not also sign her name in her own penmanship and reference that she was acting as his agent.
Also - there were several bank withdrawals in which my sister signed only my father's name (attempting to make it look like his authentic signature) but did not sign her own name or an affidavit that she was making the withdrawal as his agent. Are these withdrawals contestable? She was named as beneficiary on some accounts, and joint holder on others.
Lastly, can my sister use POA to change an account in which I had been named as beneficiary to a new account with her named as beneficiary or joint tenant?
Thanks.What is the name of your state?