The will of Carole Baskin’s husband: Was it faked? Everything to know

Carole Baskin’s husband Don Lewis went missing in 1997. He’s never been found, nor has there been any evidence to implicate anyone as being part of his disappearance.  In 2002 Lewis was considered legally dead. Shortly after his legal death Carole Baskin was quick to produce a will for her husband.

Don Lewis was a multi-millionaire, so it would stand to reason there were people hoping for a cut. Certainly, Lewis’ children expected inheritances. However, the will stated everything would go to Baskin – a surprise for Lewis’s kids.

Rumors about the will circulated before this week, and the case of Don Lewis’s disappearance has never been shut, but this week officials confirmed the will was most definitely faked. The rumors circulating before confirmation stated that Lewis’s attorney believed his signature had been forged – specifically, he believed it was traced from the marriage license of Carole Baskin and her husband.

This week investigators confirmed they believed the signatures were copied, though they didn’t specify where they believed it was copied from. It’s possible Lewis’s lawyer was right all along.

The signatures of the notary and power of attorney also may have been faked, as neither person whose names are on there recall ever having witnessed the will or signing it. Before this news broke Lewis’s lawyer had alleged the signatures were also copied from the marriage certificate.

Authorities have stated there is no legal action they can take if they were able to prove who had faked the legal will since the statute of limitations is up. Even if they were able to figure out who did it (there is one very obvious suspect) there would be nothing anyone could do. However, nobody acknowledged whether or not Lewis’s children would potentially be able to sue for some of their father’s leftover money.

While it seems likely Carole Baskin was the one who forged the signatures – nobody else would benefit from this crime – she has and still does maintain she had nothing to do with the disappearance and alleged murder of her husband. This new revelation certainly doesn’t make her look less guilty, however.

Investigators said they now have new leads, and are hoping the case of Don Lewis’s disappearance will finally be solved soon.

While Baskin likely took a blow this week with the confirmation of the will forgery, she also had a win – she was awarded the property her enemy Joe Exotic owned, and kept his zoo on. She can now do with the land as she pleases.

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