Ex-attorney for county linked with forged wills

LUMBERTON — A Superior Court judge this week ruled that two wills naming former Robeson County Attorney Hal Kinlaw as executor were forgeries.

Judge Mary Ann Tally, during a hearing in Robeson County Superior Court, ruled in favor of petitions submitted by Jessie McFadyen Tolar, of Red Springs, requesting that the wills of her mother, Louise B. McFadyen, and father, Robert Lewis McFayden, be “removed and set aside” and authentic wills be substituted in their place.

The Robesonian has been told that Kinlaw as well as his late father had business relationships for many years with Lewis McFayden. According to the petition filed by Tolar, Kinlaw resigned as executor of both of her late parents wills on March 26, 2013.

The petition to the court said that on the same day Kinlaw resigned as executor of the estates, Tolar was appointed administrator of her parents’ estates and executor of their wills. After her appointment, according to the petitions, she discovered that Louise McFadyen’s 2009 will naming Kinlaw executor was “in fact a forgery and never executed by the decedent.” She also found the 2005 will of Lewis McFadyen to be a forgery.

According to the petitions, Kinlaw would not have received anything of value in either of the forged wills.

A court official confirmed that the action taken Monday did not include any criminal charges. It was unclear Friday, however, if further action will be taken in criminal court. An assistant to Tolar’s attorney, Hilton T. Hutchens Jr. of Fayetteville, told The Robesonian that Hutchens would “not make any comment at this time.”

Attempts by The Robesonian to get a comment from Kinlaw were unsuccessful.

Kinlaw resigned as Robeson County attorney in June 2013 after it became public that he is being sued by BB&T for almost $18 million in unpaid loans. He had been the county’s attorney for more than 20 years.

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Ex-attorney for county linked with forged wills