A recent High Court ruling has shone a light on one of the most distressing scenarios in inheritance law: what happens when someone forges a Will to defraud the people a deceased person most loved.
Kassy Sinar was 46 years old when she died of breast cancer in October 2023. A London cleaning company boss and mother to a teenage daughter, Jocey, she had taken care to make a Will the previous year, leaving her entire estate in trust for her child. It was a responsible, loving act. What she could not have anticipated was that, after her death, her partner would attempt to override her wishes entirely by presenting a forged Will and a fabricated marriage certificate to the courts.
The case, decided earlier this year by Chief Master Karen Shuman in the High Court, is a stark reminder that Wills need to be subject to rigorous scrutiny before they are admitted to probate. Understanding how fraud of this kind is detected, and what protects legitimate wishes, matters for every family.
The allegation of Will forgery
After Kassy’s death, her partner Cengiz Arif produced a Will dated May 2023, purportedly signed by Kassy, under which everything passed to him rather than to their daughter. He also produced a marriage certificate, claiming the pair had wed in Cyprus in 2006 without any of her friends or family knowing.
Either document, if genuine, would have had serious legal consequences. A later valid Will normally invalidates an earlier one. A lawful marriage can also revoke an existing Will, unless that will was made in contemplation of that marriage. Marriage to the deceased would also have strengthened Mr Arif’s claim for provision under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 and therefore created difficult for Jocey and other any other of Kassy’s dependants who wished to challenge the fact that they had seemingly not been provided for.
Neither document was genuine. Kassy’s brother Ernest, who had become Jocey’s legal guardian alongside his wife Michelle, brought proceedings on the family’s behalf. The court heard that Kassy had described her relationship with Arif as abusive and toxic, that she had refused his proposal of marriage, and that he had left her side to travel abroad as she lay dying in a hospice.
Arif did not appear in court to defend the case. The judge upheld the 2022 Will, removed him as executor and trustee, froze his access to estate assets, and ordered him to pay approximately £206,000 in legal costs. The estate, valued at over £500,000 including two properties and rental income he had been collecting, will now pass to Jocey as her mother intended.
How was the Will forgery proved?
Courts do not accept allegations of forgery lightly. The burden of proof is high, and judges look for converging lines of evidence rather than a single smoking gun. In this case, several distinct threads came together.
Handwriting analysis was central. An expert witness examined the signature on the 2023 Will and found it bore all the hallmarks of an imitation, with tell-tale signs of someone attempting to copy another person’s hand rather than signing naturally. Genuine signatures have an unconscious fluency that is very difficult to replicate convincingly.
Official records contradicted the marriage claim. Ernest contacted the Turkish authorities to verify the certificate Arif had produced. The response was unambiguous: no wedding had taken place on the date claimed, and the registrar named on the document had not been working at that time. The judge concluded plainly that Kassy had never been married to Arif, and that the certificate was a forgery.
The circumstances around the 2023 Will simply did not add up. Kassy had used solicitors to draw up her 2022 Will. The suggestion that she had quietly drafted an entirely new will herself, without telling her brother, her daughter, or anyone else, in the final months of her life, was described by the judge as “preposterous” and “incredible.” The court also found no credible explanation for why she would have left everything to a partner she had repeatedly described as abusive.
The professionally executed 2022 Will, by contrast, carried a clear paper trail. The solicitors who had prepared it were above reproach, the execution was properly witnessed, and the document was consistent with everything known about Kassy’s wishes. The judge was satisfied it represented her true intentions.
What this means for your own Will
Most families will never face anything like this. But the case contains lessons that are relevant to everyone, whatever the size of their estate.
Having a professionally drafted Will matters enormously. While a homemade or poorly executed Will may be perfectly valid, it is also more vulnerable to challenge. Courts place significant weight on the fact that a will is drafted by professional solicitors who understand how to assess testamentary capacity and a testator’s vulnerability to undue influence.
Choosing your executor carefully is also important. Arif had been named executor of the 2022 Will and that appointment was rescinded by the court along with its pronouncement for the will’s validity. Where there is any doubt about a person’s trustworthiness, serious consideration should be given to appointing a professional executor or a trusted family member with legal support.
Telling trusted people about your Will reduces the risk that a fraudulent will might be submitted to probate. The court noted that, had Kassy genuinely made a new Will in 2023, she would almost certainly have told her brother. The fact that nobody knew about the supposed document was itself a red flag.
Keeping your Will up to date protects your intentions. Kassy had the foresight to update her Will in 2022. Had she not done so, the legal position on her death could have been far more complicated. Life changes, relationships change, and a Will that reflects your current wishes is far stronger than one that does not.
What to do if you suspect Will fraud
If you believe a Will has been forged or that someone is acting fraudulently with an estate, time matters. Courts can make emergency orders to freeze assets, as happened here, preventing funds or property from being moved or dissipated before a full hearing takes place. Acting quickly, with specialist legal advice, can make the difference between recovering an estate and losing it.
Ernest Sinar’s persistence on behalf of his niece shows what is possible when families fight back with the right support. The legal costs were significant, but the court ordered them to be paid by Arif, and Jocey will now receive the inheritance her mother worked to secure for her.
How Buckles can help
Whether you want to make sure your Will is properly drafted and protected, or you have concerns about an estate following a bereavement, the private client team at Buckles is here to help. We work with individuals and families across a range of estate planning, probate, and contentious inheritance matters, and we understand how distressing these situations can be.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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