Man forged own signatures to nullify will

A will drawn four days prior to a man's death was declared null and void by the Civil Court in Gozo, after evidence showed the man forged his own signatures to nullify the will and safeguard his daughter's interests.

The case dates back to 11 February 2009 when Saviour Portelli passed away at the Gozo General Hospital. Subsequently, his only daughter Rosalinda Portelli realised that on his deathbed her father had changed his will and made his cousin Carmen Portelli as his sole heir.

The will also stated that the inheritance would pass to Carmen on condition that she takes care of his daughter's life-long needs. A medical note was attached to the will. In it, notary Dr Patrick Sciberras claimed the man enjoyed a sound mind and was fully capable of disposing of his property.

However this was challenged by the man's daughter, who claimed her father was not in full control of his faculties and was forced to change his the will.

Notary Maria Vella Magro told the court how the man and his late wife had drawn a will in 2000 leaving their daughter Rosalinda as their sole heir. "The couple were concerned about the future of their daughter as she suffers from a medical condition," the notary said.

She also stated she had never met Carmen Portelli prior to February 2009, when the man's cousin called at her office telling her the man wanted to draw a new will. The man's cousin had also asked her if the daughter would be able to alter the man's will.

However the notary had informed her that should Rosalinda be the heir, then the man's heirloom was totally heirs to do with as she pleased. The cousin had also told the notary she was ready to take care of the man's daughter.

Notary Anthony Hili, took the stand and explained he knew neither the cousin nor the man. "A woman called me saying an elderly man wants to do a will and that it was urgent," he said. The notary found Carmen next to the man's bedside, and asked to speak to the patient in private.

"I realised there was a large sum of money involved and he agreed to split it 50% to his daughter and 50% to his cousin. Then he changed his mind and only left 25% to his cousin, on the premise she takes good care of his daughter. Carmen had told me she's appreciate if the man would leave her part of his heirloom, but she never quantified her expectation." the notary said. Hili confirmed to the court he was convinced that the man had fully understood the will.

The man's daughter explained how after her mother passed away her father went to live with his cousin Tony Portelli. However this did not last long as Tony expected to be included in his cousin's will. After her father passed away, Carmen had told her to go live with her so she can take better care of her, however she refused as she was scared Carmen only did this for the money. Prior to her parent's passing, Rosalinda had insisted her future was in a home in Australia.

With 20 years of experience under his belt, Dr Patrick Sciberras realised that his patient Saviour Portelli had a substantial inheritance. "I started noticing various people visiting him and realised there was an interest as the sharks were circling their prey", he said. The doctor stated he never expected the man to pass away so suddenly and Portelli was in full control of his faculties. "He was always worrying about his daughter's future, but he never mentioned he wanted to change any will", the doctor held.

Further evidence proved that the cousin had pestered the man about including her in his will. She boasted with other family members that she would be inheriting her cousin, yet the two wills drawn previous to 2009 proved otherwise.

When Carmen threatened and forced her cousin to change his will, the man agreed to this, however signed in four different ways on the documents. Notary Hili was not familiar with the man's writing and did not realise this, however court experts held that the man signed in a different way on purpose.

"Four different signatures appear on the will, and while no one is bound to always sign in the same manner, these signatures denote the man did so in order for the notary to get suspicious and have the will examined," court expert Dr Abela Medici held.

Magistrate Josette Demicoli held that Carmen Portelli insisted she wanted to take care of her cousin's daughter but her actions contradicted this. "She was in a hurry to get a notary to Saviour's bedside. She wasn't happy with the answers of the family's notary so she asked Notary Hili instead. Furthermore, only days after the man passed away, Carmen and her brother took their cousin's daughter to a doctor asking he interdicts Rosalinda. This shows the woman was not satisfied with what she had received. Her greed and ambition to gain all of her cousin's possessions drove her to extremes," the court held.

Magistrate Demicoli concluded the signatures on the will dated 7 February 2009 were forged. The court also declared that due to Carmen Portelli's threats and forcefulness, the man was deprived of his free will and forced to pass his inheritance to his cousin, making the same will null and void.