Check Stolen And $30,000 Missing

Location: Washington State, USA

Four years ago, my MIL passed away leaving my wife a small piece of real estate. Two and a half years ago, she sold it and the proceeds were collected by our estate lawyer. A few weeks later, our lawyer emailed us that they were sending my wife a check for the proceeds (roughly $30k) via USPS certified mail. We both missed seeing the email, so we didn't realize there was supposed to be a check en-route.

A month ago, we finally closed probate for my MIL's estate, and asked the lawyer for the remaining $30k. The lawyer of course said they sent it 2.5 years ago. So of course we immediately go hunting through bank records to see if we deposited it and somehow totally forgot we did. When nothing turned up, we asked the lawyer for the record of the certified mail delivery and if their bank shows the check was deposited.

And it turns out, someone who is obviously not my wife forged her signature on the certified mail. Our lawyer has requested the depositor's info from the bank (all it shows in their statements is that it was deposited, but not who and what institution.

So all of this has made for a particularly sucktastic day, since we just got the image of the certified mail signature. We still need to have a real talk with the estate lawyer, but if my entirely non-professional googling is accurate, then it looks like the UCC gives a 3 year time window to report a forged endorsement on a check and recover funds from the depositor's bank. Can someone who actually knows the law/regulations tell me if I'm correct?

I'm kicking myself for not seeing that original email from our lawyer, but I'm also hoping that we can still get the money since it's been less than 3 years from the time it was deposited.