Forgery

[cl597]

Georgia Was reviewing legal documents on the Broward County Florida site when I saw a legal document where my signature was forged then witnessed by an attorney and a notary. I know who committed the forgery as well as the attorney who witnessed same since I lived in Florida at the time the act was committed. The internet site was not up when this occured in 1990. My question is do I have legal recourse and/or can I prosecute as this is a criminal offense? The legal document is currently online thus proof is available. Appreciate receiving advise on this situation. Thank you.

 

[CdwJava]

Georgia Was reviewing legal documents on the Broward County Florida site when I saw a legal document where my signature was forged then witnessed by an attorney and a notary. I know who committed the forgery as well as the attorney who witnessed same since I lived in Florida at the time the act was committed. The internet site was not up when this occured in 1990. My question is do I have legal recourse and/or can I prosecute as this is a criminal offense? The legal document is currently online thus proof is available. Appreciate receiving advise on this situation. Thank you.

How were you damaged?

What kind of document was this?

What is your relationship to the party allegedly forging your signature, and why would they have done this?

Forgery generally requires some intent to try and unlawfully gain from another in some way. One person signing the name of another is not necessarily forgery - it depends on the details.

- Carl

 

[cl597]

In reply, there is no knowledge of how much damage as the document involved a transfer of collateral (time shares) thus it could be a small or possibly large amount of monies. The document was a substitution of collateral agreement. The forgerer was my ex-husband and his attorney. At the time this happened, I had already filed for divorce thus my belief is that my ex-husband was attempting to hide assets by transferring. If this cannot be prosecuted, maybe I could report this to the Florida Board of Regulations as my ex-husband is currently a Realtor in the state of Florida and the Attorney could be reported to the State Bar.

 

[CdwJava]

Whether this could be prosecuted or not will really depend on the details and the loss. Chances are the statute of limitations has long since passed, but since it was only just recently discovered, you MIGHT be able to do something about it depending on the status of criminal and civil law in FL.

I would recommend you consult an attorney in FL to see if there is anything you can do - or if it is worthwhile to pursue at all as it might be more costly to pursue than to let it lie.

I'm curious ... were these timeshares that you owned together? If so, how did you not know they were "missing" or transferred? And if they were his (perhaps prior to marriage), why would your signature be needed to transfer them to another party?

- Carl

 

[cl597]

The time shares were owned/purchased during the marriage through a corporation which we had. Since he was the realtor and I had a career of my own which kept me busy, I let my ex-husband handle it. It is my fault that I did not pay more attention to detail when things became rocky. My job transferred me to Georgia prior to the full disclosure of assets and final decree of divorce. This was a contested divorce on the ex-husband's part as he was attempting to get assets which were mine prior to the marriage so it was a very expensive lesson learned (legal fees that is) for me to be rid of him. Basically, I am not looking to tie up the legal system or get into large fees, just wanted to see if I had any legal rights here which if presented I/we might be able to settle out of court for a reasonable sum.

 

[CdwJava]

It sounds like the statute of limitations for civil and criminal actions may have passed, then. However, there may be exceptions depending on the law in your state.

It would probably be worth your while to speak to a FL attorney to see what options are open to you.

Good luck.

- Carl

 

[cl597]

Thank you very much for your advice and I will follow up to see what is possible.