Document Fraud in Probate Cases

People use different means to commit fraud with documents in probate cases. Examples are when a person fabricates a will leaving all assets to themselves from the decedent. Other examples are when a person writes checks from the decedent's bank account. There are times when a document is notarized, yet the notarization is fraudulent. There are different ways this can occur. A skilled forensic document examiner can oftentimes discover how the documents have been created and altered to benefit a party who does not deserve benefit from the decedent's estate. This presentation uses case studies to identify various methods that have been used to attempt to fraudulently take a decedent's property.