Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York
Forged will/ New York City
My father died in 1994. In his Will, he left everything to his twin sister, also appointing her Executrix. The Will was signed by his brother & his girlfriend's daughter. I was not present at the time of his death. My aunt told me there was very little money in the Estate. As it turns out, there was over 1/2 million dollars. I had already signed the Waiver to Probate, when I was contacted by my father's girlfriend and her daughter, who informed me that the Will was a forgery and a fake, drawn up by my father's sister two days before my father's death. Although he had been sick for months, nobody notified me. I live in Oregon, he was living in New York. All parties involved claim there is no other Will. I am his only child. I have hired an attorney in NY. He claims we cannot sue for reimbursement of legal fees. What is the penalty for forgery and fraud? I thought these were felonies. What is my aunt liable for? Can we sue for an amount greater than the value of the Estate because of pain & suffering? I am presently seeing a therapist due to the stress of this whole issue. I can't believe my father would neglect to name me as the beneficiary to his Estate. Please advise. Thank you.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Don't you trust your lawyer in NY?
Are you just trying to get a second opinion? It's not usually strictly true that you can't get legal fees reimbursed, only that in some cases the chances of winning that suit are highly unlikely, and your lawyer may just be advising you that s/he won't do it because it's a poor strategy, likely only to lose credibility in court.
I also believe that your claims for emotional distress arising from the attempted fraud are ... well, let's say that they may be secondary to the primary issue, your proving up the fraud (and getting your prior Waiver reversed).
Let your lawyer cook one omelette at a time.
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