A disinherited daughter has recently sued her late father’s lodger, accusing him of forging a will so that the lodger would benefit from the Deceased’s entire estate.

Khatun v Hasan and Anr – the facts

The High Court heard last week how Mrs Khatun, believing she would solely inherit her father, Mr Shaikh’s estate, was shocked to discover a new will meant the entire £900,000 fortune was being left to his lodger.

Mrs Khatun claims that her father and his lodger, Mr Hasan, did not have a ‘real long-standing relationship or one that would warrant a bequest of his whole estate’ and that Mr Hasan was a paying lodger who only occasionally helped her father around the house. Furthermore, she was only made aware of this new will, denying her of inheritance, one month after the death of her father.

Mr Hasan maintained that he had a close relationship with Mr Shaikh, the disputed will was real, and it was the deceased’s wish to bequeath his entire estate to the lodger.

Forgery in Probate Disputes

Fraud or forgery can pose a risk to freedom of testation in England and Wales. Wills can be forged, falsely fabricated, fraudulently destroyed, or fraudulently created so as to not represent the testator’s true wishes.

There are many areas of concern which may raise suspicion as to whether a will is fraudulent or has been forged. Red flags to beware of include:

• Wills appearing some time after death
• Wills being found by people who may be behaving unusually and/or would not be expected to have such documents in their care
• Wills being found in unusual places
• Wills containing out of place and unforeseen terms
• A testator drafting a will themselves or without the help of a professional after using solicitors to draft previous wills
• Wills witnessed by individuals who are more closely associated with the beneficiary or would not be an obvious choice for the testator to ask to witness a will.

Fraud or forgery, if alleged, must be proven. It can be difficult to prove that fraud has taken place as the Court adopts the criminal burden of proof in fraud cases. The Court must be persuaded beyond reasonable doubt that the will has been forged, as opposed to on the balance of probabilities (the burden which applies in usual civil cases).

So how can fraud be proven? It is likely that witnesses will be interviewed and that handwriting experts may be called to give evidence. In the Khatun v Hasan case mentioned above, a witness had apparently spoken of having been out for dinner on the evening that the will in question was allegedly executed, meaning the Deceased could not have signed it at that moment in time.

Handwriting experts are key but their findings often form part of the broader scope of evidence and are seldom seen as conclusive. This can also be because a genuine signature could still be found on a disingenuous document.

If wills cause suspicion, claims of forgery should only be put forward if there are reasonable grounds to support this as these allegations could, and frequently do, carry criminal penalties.

A will found to be forged or fraudulent will be invalid and the Deceased’s estate will pass either under the terms of the earlier, valid will, if there is one, or under the rules of intestacy.

If you have any concerns about the validity of a Will, our contentious probate team are here to advise you.