Ep 39: Lies, Forgery, and Don Lewis: The Case for Having a Strong Will

The “Tiger King” phenomenon put the unsolved case of Don Lewis’ disappearance in the spotlight – and increased speculation that his will was forged. In this episode, Sarina Fazan sits down with Financial Advisor David Duquette, President of Impact Medical Advisors, and Criminal Defense Attorney Rohom Khonsari of Khonsari Law Group to discuss their thoughts on the discovery lawsuit filed by Lewis’ family and the importance of making a strong will. 

The Netflix docuseries “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness” has been watched by more than 34 million people, bringing new attention to the question of what happened to Lewis, who vanished 23 years ago from his Tampa home. Sarina is one of the producers of Investigation Discovery’s “Joe Exotic: Tigers, Lies and Cover-Up,” which takes a new look at the evidence in the Lewis’ disappearance. 

Lewis’ family recently filed a lawsuit against Lewis’ ex-wife, Carole Baskin, who owns Big Cat Rescue in Tampa. The lawsuit calls for information to be gathered surrounding the case, which is still open.

“It’s incredibly rare, it’s more of a thing of the past, and I don’t even know if the judge is going to allow this complaint to move forward,” Rohom says.

Due to the unique nature of the lawsuit, Rohom believes that it should be evaluated by a judge before letting it progress. He also feels that, with the case being more than 23 years old, there is uncertainty if there is simply enough information for the case to move forward.

Rohom explains, “That’s why I’m leaning towards it being a fishing expedition. But, at the same time, with the value that came from the will and the estate, if they gather the information, if there is information to gather, then it is grounds for an amazing wrongful death lawsuit against Ms. Baskin.”

With allegations that Don Lewis’ will may have been forged, Sarina asks David for his guidance on how to prepare a will and what protections there might be for families.

“Don’t procrastinate,” David advises.

He continues, “We often find out that people have not completed their estate plan, and they might have several kids and they have never completed an estate plan, and that’s dangerous for a multitude of different reasons.”

David also recommends that people who have previously completed an estate plan update it after major life changes, making sure that their attorney also reviews the document.

Rohom explains that it is common for wills to contain a blanket asset distribution, but that there is a procedure to follow to properly execute a will.

“Oftentimes, they just want the document in their hand, and once they have the document in their hand, maybe they'll execute it, maybe they won’t,” Rohom says. “But if they do execute it, they need to do it in front of two witnesses and with a notary there.”

Having witnesses to the signing of a will is an important protection, which is clearly illustrated by the controversy around the alleged forgery of Don Lewis’ signature on his will.

“Sometimes they’ll go to someone after the fact, and say, ‘Hey can you witness this?’ By and large, that is never going to be an issue, but if it is an issue, like this case is, then those witnesses could potentially be brought in, as has happened here,” Rohom says.

Digging deeper into the importance of wills, David asks attorney Rohom if witnesses could be unaware of a possible forgery when taking part in a will-signing ceremony.

“The two witnesses, the notary, and the person signing the will should all be in the same room at the same time. So, the witnesses are there to witness that, yes, it is actually this person that is signing this document,” Rohom explains.

He continues, “In fact, the notary should be checking the witness’ IDs as well, not that their swearing to anything, but that everyone in the room is who they are, and this person is actually signing the document, which has become a big deal in this case.” 

David describes a will as “a piece of the puzzle.” He recommends that his clients complete an estate plan, a will, power of attorney, and health care proxy as part of their checklist. In addition, he advises that you reevaluate your will and review your beneficiaries every few years.

If you would like to itemize beneficiaries in your will, an attorney can help with that process, as well.

“There’s no problem with that. Obviously, it takes us more time and more cost,” Rohom explains.

Having an attorney or financial advisor that you trust is essential, so it’s important to ask the right questions when looking for assistance.

“I think, oftentimes, when it comes to wills and attorneys, a lot of it is word of mouth based,” Rohom says. “There are attorneys, for example, if there’s a living trust that needs to be established, or it is a lot more complicated, there are attorneys that I will then send that particular client to.”

David also adds that there are sensitive and often uncomfortable topics that need to be discussed when putting together a will, such as who will take care of the children in the event of the parent’s demise or who will control the money. 

“There's some technical stuff in there that you want to prepare before just sitting down. Or, at least when you sit down with an attorney, you're going to lightly have to go back and have some discussions as a family to figure out exactly how you want to establish it,” David describes.

David says that there are several factors to consider when planning guardianship for children, specifically. He says, “When you’re thinking of who will take care of the kids, oftentimes, people are thinking of their parents, right?”

David continues, “But you have to think of age. I know my parents would be exhausted if they had to run after my kids all the time, and they had to do that for years and years and years.”

Choosing one person in a relationship, in case there is a divorce, is another thing to consider. Rohom clarifies that the children would go to the surviving parent.

“Not to inject a personal element, but if me and my ex-wife were both to die in the same event, David and his wife would take care of our two children as it is listed in our will,” Rohom says.

Come to find out that David and Rohom are good friends, who have previously set up their wills and understand the significance of having this document in place.

Sarina feels that, with the docuseries phenomenon, more people are talking about wills now.  

David says, “I’ve seen it simply with COVID.”

He continues, “A lot of teachers are reaching out and trying to get this stuff in place, life insurance, and estate planning, because all of a sudden they didn't have it, and now this is being talked about much more.”

Rohom agrees that the uptick he’s seen is also related to COVID. As an attorney, he makes sure his clients’ wills are being witnessed and notarized appropriately, even when they don’t want to go to the office due to exposure issues.

With the impact of these unprecedented times and the questions regarding Don Lewis’ case, having a strong will is proving to be more important than ever. And the interest in the case is only intensifying.

“I think from a media perspective and also a criminal law perspective, I have no idea why she agreed to do this show, and that’s something that I’ve thought about a lot as I’ve seen this show develop,” Rohom says regarding the allegations against Carole Baskin.

He asks, “If you know this is continued over time, why are you agreeing to a show that is going to expose this to the public, and then have people asking questions and presenting theories, which then motivates law enforcement to open the case back up?”  

In fact, Carole Baskin is also being sued for defamation by a former assistant, in an amended complaint to the lawsuit mentioned in this podcast.

As the sequel of Netflix’s docuseries and the continuation of the Investigation Discovery’s series come out, both Rohom and David are interested to see how the investigation progresses. In the meantime, you also can watch Investigation Discovery’s “Joe Exotic: Tigers, Lies and Cover-Up” on streaming devices.

Learn more about Khonsari Law Group at www.KLGFlorida.com.

Learn more about Impact Medical Advisors at www.ImpactMedicalAdvisors.com.

For more discussions like this one, make sure to subscribe to the podcast “On The Record With Sarina Fazan."

Sarina Fazan’s wardrobe provided by Triage Consignment Boutique (www.facebook.com/triageconsignment).

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