A Florida judge ruled that the will giving Jack Kerouac's estate to his widow's family was forged, and the ruling changed nothing

Kerouac left his estate to his mother, Gabrielle^†. She died in 1973. A will dated 1973 in her name left everything to Stella Sampas Kerouac, Jack's third wife. Through it the Sampas family took control of his manuscripts and belongings, an estate later valued at about $20 million. Kerouac's only daughter, Jan, filed suit in 1994 claiming the signature was forged. Jan died in 1996^† and her nephew, Paul Blake Jr., continued the case. In July 2009 Pinellas County Judge George W. Greer ruled that Gabrielle Kerouac's will was a forgery. He relied on handwriting evidence and medical testimony that she was too infirm to sign. He did not decide who forged it; it was enough that she had not signed. An appeals court confirmed the ruling in 2011. It did not move the estate. Florida's non-claim statute had expired, and the Sampas family kept sole control. In 2026 the Kerouac archive and rights remain with the Sampas family^†.