Legal Question in Criminal Law in Colorado

finding a will in the recycle bin

a colleague of mine passed away and

her brother said that he could not

find that she had a will.

i knew that over the years she told

me she had a will and was planning

on updating , she also told her

virtual assistant the same thing

the virtual assistant went onto the

computer through (go to my pc) and

accessed the computer of our

colleague and friend who had passed

away

the virtual assistant had been given

access & password to the computer

for several years

the virtual assistant found the will in

the recycle bin/trash

to the virtual assistant conclusion

the only person who could have

thrown the document/will into the

trash was her brother who was who

was the only person at the deseased

that morning

Because the brother threw the will in

the recycle bin and becasue it may

change his inheratance,as the will

indicated someone else in the family

to receive her assets , the virtual

assistant shared the document with

the family menmber mentioned in

the will

the brother is now saying that he is

going to have the virtual assistant

arrested for theft

is this considered theft


Asked on 8/25/08, 5:28 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys

Philip Rosmarin Rosmarin Law Firm

Re: finding a will in the recycle bin

No, and the virtual assistant should immediately contact the police department forensic computing section and give them all the evidence she has against the brother. He is the one who will be charged.

Good luck.

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Answered on 8/25/08, 7:30 pm
Daniel Fenaughty FENAUGHTY & ASSOCIATES, PC

Re: finding a will in the recycle bin

By itself, no. An investigator in computer forensics call tell when this document was trashed (did it happen before or after time of death). You really need an attorney who does wills/estates to contest this will.

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Answered on 8/26/08, 12:11 pm
Jason Savela The Savela Law Firm, PC

Re: finding a will in the recycle bin

theft requires the element of preventing another person from possessing or using a thing of value, either by keeping it for yourself or destruction

I do not see how finding an undisclosed document and making it public to the interested parties is a form theft

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Answered on 8/26/08, 3:15 pm


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