Forged Deed To Deceased Grandfather's Home Creates Major Family Rift; Aunt Sues To Void Deed, Confirm Title To Rightful Heirs

In Chicago, Illinois, the Chicago Tribune reports on a story involving Raymond Washington, reportedly a convicted felon who is being sued for allegedly forging a deed to the home of his deceased grandparents, Wesley and Olivia Kimble, enabling him to take title, and then selling the home and pocketing the cash. The home subsequently went into foreclosure, leaving other relatives who lived in the home, facing eviction, including his disabled aunt, Barbara Ward. An excerpt from the story:

• Washington has had some trouble with the law. He has been arrested a dozen times, three of them for felony offenses.In late November 2003, Washington used a false name, Marcus Taylor, to purchase a new Mercedes-Benz, a vehicle retailing for $39,000, from Mercedes-Benz of Chicago. Washington was arrested on forgery charges on Jan. 22, 2004, just 11 days before he filed the documents transferring ownership of his grandfather's house to himself.

• Washington pleaded guilty to forgery in July 2004 and was sentenced to 30 months' probation. In a lawsuit filed in Cook County Chancery Court, Ward maintains that her nephew forged her father's name on the quitclaim deed. Even if it was her father's signature, Kimble was in no physical or mental condition to sign the deed, the suit says.

• Ward is asking Chancery Court Judge James Epstein to rule that the deed and the mortgage are "illegal and void and ordered to be canceled of record," court records show. She also is asking the court to confirm that the house is owned by the legal heirs of Wesley and Olivia Kimble.

For more, see A house divided, family seeks answers (Foreclosure on West Side two-flat touches off ownership battle and raises questions about sale's legality).

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