Your talking about a family member's right to take as against the will (or regardless of what the will states) - correct?
Have you thought about sending the will out to have it's signature examined by a handwriting expert?
Were or are their witnesses to the signing of the will - did other sign it?
Did he make an "X" or anything - was it strictly the rubber stamp?
Did the attorney allegedly watch your brother stamp the will?
no he did not make an x. I have no way of knowing if the stamp was used, but they had an unsigned copy that they are saying is the orginal will, and i'm pretty sure they just put his signature on that. and yes a real sleaze ball attorney says he wittnessed the signing
I saw my brothers will 20 years ago and it wasn't 4 pages it was much larger and had certain specifics
If the only thing they have is an unsigned will and/or a "stamped" signature on a will - that isn't a valid will - that's not enough. At a minimum the testator must sign with a "mark" (an X or something) personally.
Is there any "mark" on the will?
If you can scan it - then certainly paste it here.
Does it look at all like his signature? Or not really?
I don't know - from the images I look at - it would seem to me to be original signatures. Additionally, he did initial at the bottom of the pages which look to be the same way he signed the will.
I am not familiar with his signature or initials - that would be for you to determine because you would know such.
However, a self-proving Will, or a self-proving affidavit attached to a Will, certifies that the witnesses and testator properly signed the Will. A self proving Will makes it easy for the court to accept the document as the true Will of the person who has died, avoiding the delay and cost of locating witnesses at the time of probate. Such Wills are legal in most states.
In many states, a Will is automatically self-proving when two witnesses sign under penalty of perjury that they observed the willmaker sign the document, and that he told them it was his Will. In California, for example, all Wills are considered "self-proved" once they are properly signed and executed by the testator and witnesses. If no one contests the validity of the Will, the probate court will generally accept it without hearing the testimony of witnesses or other evidence. In other states, such as Louisiana, the testator and two or more witnesses must sign an affidavit, or sworn statement, before a notary public certifying that the will is genuine and that all will-making formalities have been observed.
So, unless you can contest his signature in some way - to me, that looks like a valid will and will be upheld by the court.
Sorry
Additionally, there is no statute in California allowing a parent or sibling to take against the will - if they are left out or ommitted from the will then they get no inheritance from the deceased.
Attorney
19 years experience in estate and trust planning, probate, and wills