This is a response to John's questions about official seals and the authenticity of signatures on documents. I found the following on a web page listing Army Regulations regarding Notarial Services. I have a feeling it is applicable here. http://150.226.45.85/LA/regs/27-55/27-55.html "Some state statutes and foreign laws require that instruments conveying real or personal property be executed under seal. Therefore, in the space immediately preceding the signature of the individual selling property or appointing an attorney in fact to do so, there should appear the statement "Witness by my hand and seal," or words to that effect. In most jurisdictions, the typing, printing, or writing of the word "SEAL " or the symbol "LS" after the signature will complete the sealing of the instrument. A seal need only be used if required by applicable law." Later in the document there is an indication that "LS" stands for "Legal Seal". In looking at wills, I had been operating under the assumption that one could either view original wills (either the documents themselves, which are readily available at the Lebanon County Courthouse, or microfilm copies, which are available at other area courthouses) or transcriptions of wills in will books. Obviously the transcription in the will book cannot have the testator's authentic signature whereas the original will must. I suppose it is possible that a second (or third) copy of the will was made by some third party and it was a copy of this sort that found its way into the files instead of the original. Depending upon the care used in preparing such a copy, it might be difficult to distinguish the copy from the original. Out of curiousity, is there a legal requirement that it be the original will placed on file (in cases where the will is indeed present in the files) or is it legally permissible to submit a copy of the original? Looking at the pdf file that John provided a link to, I see that some of the signatures are written in German script. I am inclined to think that these are authentic, but of course I have no way to verify that. > http://www.redshift.com/~jblight/willsign.pdf I'm eager to read the comments from someone with expert knowledge on probate procedures. Dave David N. Blauch, Associate Professor Department of Chemistry, Davidson College P.O. Box 1719, Davidson, NC 28036 Tel. (704) 892-2308 FAX (704) 892-2709 http://www.chm.davidson.edu/dablauch/dablauch.html