Signatures, initials, signatures by proxy, self-forgery and documents: when to request the examination, which reference samples to gather, which questions to ask and how to read the conclusion.
A handwriting expert report is only as good as its reference samples. Most weak reports are born before the examination: too few samples, old ones, of a different kind of writing, or the wrong request. Asking for a comparison with the handwriting of someone who could not sign, on a document signed by proxy, produces a report that answers nothing.
The procedure also exacts its price. Once authenticity is challenged, the burden falls on whoever produced the document, under the CPC (Brazilian Code of Civil Procedure), art. 429, II. The plea of forgery has a deadline (CPC, art. 430). And a scanned copy preserves neither pen pressure nor stroke crossings.
The course follows the lawyer's path from request to report: choosing the examination, gathering reference samples, drafting the questions and reading the conclusion on the scale of certainty.
Pick as many courses as you like: they are kept and arrive ticked on the registration form.
After the death of an elderly partner, the remaining partners increased the value of the life insurance. When another partner died, the insurer refused to pay and said his signature on the enrolment form was forged. The examination looked at the signature of the deceased and that of the surviving partner, each against reference samples from the same person. Both were genuine.
An elderly woman said she was buying, in instalments, a house that went into the owner's estate, and she presented receipts signed by him. The signatures were the deceased's. The proofs of payment for the instalments, however, had been forged.
A father paid child support in cash, and his teenage daughter often signed the receipt. The mother denied the signatures and the payments, and the father was even arrested. The examination showed that the signatures were the daughter's and that a set of initials on the receipts was the mother's.
An accounting firm was accused, in civil and criminal proceedings, of falsifying a client's employment record book (carteira de trabalho). There was no tampering: it was wear on the paper and poor scanning.
In groups, participants receive an excerpt from a fictitious adverse report with a categorical conclusion of authenticity. Using the report reading guide, they mark each weakness: reference samples, copy, method, limits. In 15 minutes, each group delivers four questions for clarification. In the last 5 minutes, the instructor presents the answer key.
Laws and rulings discussed
CPC, arts. 369, 425, §§ 1º and 2º, 428, 429, 430 to 433 and 436 (Brazilian Code of Civil Procedure) · CPC, arts. 465, § 1º, 473 and 478 · STJ (Brazil's Superior Court of Justice), Theme 1061 · CC, arts. 215, § 2º, 595 and 1,865 (Brazilian Civil Code) · SWGDOC, Standard Terminology for Expressing Conclusions of Forensic Document Examiners, version 2013-2
See also
Forensic Handwriting and Questioned Document Examination → Signature by Proxy → Self-Forgery of Signatures → Forensic Services in Family and Succession → See all courses →