06/10/2009 NOTTINGHAM SOLICITOR WARNS ABOUT THE NEED FOR HAVING AN UP TO DATE, CORRECTLY DRAWN WILL, AFTER A CASE WHERE A WIFE FALSIFIED SIGNATURE OF INTESTATE HUSBAND
A Cambridgeshire woman has admitted falsifying the execution of her late husband's unsigned and unwitnessed will. Patricia Fall had denied the charge but changed her plea to guilty at the last minute.
Patricia Fall of Newmarket had originally denied the charge of using a false instrument purporting to be the last will and testament of her late husband Richard Anthony Fall. But she changed her plea just before the trial at Ipswich Crown Court on 18 August.
She admitted trying to pass off the will as genuine though it was neither signed nor witnessed when her husband died suddenly on a visit to Tanzania in December 2007. The prosecution alleged the will was signed by two witnesses after his death.
Richard Fall left no other will and thus died intestate, the court heard. Meanwhile Patricia Fall will be sentenced next month and may receive a prison term, the judge said at the hearing .
Ken Curtis, Partner and Wills Specialist with Nottingham law firm, Curtis Parkinson Solicitors, points out: "This shows the importance of not only getting a will drawn correctly, but also making sure it is up to date. If circumstances change, then a will may need to be amended slightly to take this into account".
Curtis Parkinson Solicitors is a law firm specialising in private and commercial work including buying and selling property, family matters, employment, court disputes, wills, probate, tax planning, debt recovery, personal injury and equine law. The firm has three offices, conveniently located in Nottingham City Centre, Clifton and Bulwell
For further information, please contact:
Ken Curtis
Curtis Parkinson Solicitors
Tel: 0115 931 7000
E-mail: kenneth.curtis@curtisparkinson.com