How can one determine if a Will is genuine if the deceased claimed several times not to have one?
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How can one determine if a Will is genuine if the deceased claimed several times not to have one?
The maker’s signature does not match, children names were misspelled and notification to all family members was not rendered.
Asked on December 5, 2015 under Estate Planning, Georgia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
Basically, by what you're doing, but the issue of whether it is genuine or not has to be determined by the court--that is, if you were someone who stood to inherit under instestate succession (under the rules for who gets what when there is no will), you can bring a challenge in surrogates or probate court. In that challenge, you can present evidence, such as from a handwriting analysis, or mispelling of children's name, lack of notification of a will to anyone affected by it, etc. and let the court decide whether it is real (and enforceable) or not.
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