Decedent's Second Wife Forges Will and Revocation of Prenuptial Agreement

In a recent East-side case from Macomb County, two sons challenged the claims of their deceased father's second wife.  The case was sufficiently contentious to wind-up being tried before a jury in Macomb County Probate Judge Carl Marlinga's courtroom.

The couple had been married only five years and had executed a prenuptial agreement prior to their nuptials.  Wife claimed her deceased husband revoked the prenuptial agreement, and changed his will to favor his wife over his sons, but the jury found that she forged the revocation and exercised fraud and undue influence in the execution of the revised will and estate plan.

The sons' claims were that following a debilitating heart attack in 2007, their father's sizable estate was systematically depleted by his second wife.  The sons demonstrated that wife wire-transferred over $340,000 to her family in the Ukraine without her husband's knowledge.

The jury trial in this case took 3-weeks and resulted in a verdict for the estate of nearly $500,000.  With human nature being what it is, you just can never be too careful when a stranger links up with a beloved and well endowed family member.

There is indeed a fine-line between meddling in an elderly family members financial and private affairs, and protecting the loved one from financial abuse, greed and graft.  Keep a close eye on your loved ones folks.

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