High Profile Forgery

While many estate planning attorneys contend that forgery is a rare occurrence in the estate planning world, a recent guilty verdict for Brooke Astor’s son, and his lawyer, shows that it can, and does, happen. Barring an appeal, the jury’s verdict means that Mrs. Astor’s son, Anthony D. Marshall, an 85-year-old war veteran who fought at Iwo Jima, can be sentenced to anywhere from 1 to 25 years behind bars. The prosecution had portrayed Mr. Marshall as greedy, saying that he was driven to squeeze his mother for money at the urging of his wife, Charlene. On Thursday, Charlene Marshall sat stoned faced as the verdict was read.

Charges associated with document forgery are more common than proven cases of it. Most of the time they are alleged by an adult child who feels short-changed by a parent’s will. Typically, such individuals will accuse a sibling of falsifying the document.

In the overwhelming number of instances of forgery accusations, the document is not forged and the name is authentic.

Many times, when there has been a forgery, it is the result of a testamentary witness’s lack of understanding that they were to actually witness the signing of the will.

Document experts have many tools at their disposal. These may include infra-red light that can reveal whether multiple inks are present on a document, or whether there have been alterations or additions to it. High-powered microscopes are used to detect whether a writer stopped and started a lot during a signature.

For the most part, estate planning lawyers don’t see this kind of activity on a regular basis. Nonetheless, it is certainly something of which to be aware.

Since the signing of the will requires one, if not several actual witnesses, the ability of a forger to actually pull off a successful alteration becomes very difficult. It would require multiple parties acting together.

On the other hand, questions about the incompetence of the testator, undue influence or duress are much more frequently litigated in the world of estate planning.

Our North Carolina estate planning law firmcares for clients as if they were family. We know that many women are intimidated dealing with attorneys and we hope to break down those barriers with our warm, unique personable approach. We have created an NC estate attorney legacy planning practice that is one which cannot be found with any firm in the area.

No Tag Tags:Education,estate planning,law,legacy planning,legal,nc estate attorney,north carolina estate planning,north carolina estate planning attorney,trusts,wills

Related posts

• How Will My North Carolina Will Distribute My Estate? (0)
• Where To Look For Practical Mesothelioma Advice (0)
• What Kind Of Things Can Lawyers Help Me With (0)
• What Is An Ontario Certificate Of Good Standing (0)
• What Does Criminal Offense Mean? (0)
• Understanding The Lemon Law In Indiana (0)
• Truth About Estate Tax (0)