The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1870-01-28
From Every Saturday.1
ABOUT WILLS.
BY D. R. SHELTON MACKENZIE.

ti-s-t. a1l-e I'll III slIllat r|f. E...r ~
BYD. r. SHELTON MACKENZIE.
Last Will and Testament-what Is a Legal
Will?-Written and Verbal Wills-The
Testator's Mind" Signed, Sealed and De-
nvered "-Stamped and Proxy signatures
= Shakspeare,S viii = RcvOking--Scottish
Law--Writing iOn the sand - The Oldest
Will Extant- Eaf sad f-.5I
Some weeks ago, in this column, I
touched on the subject of tUd2s, chiefly
with reference to the remarkable "last
will and testament" made in London,
in the closing years of the last centu-
ry, by Mr.. Thelusson. He wished his
property, already vast, to accumulate
for number of years after his death,
until it reached an amount so great
that the human mind wonders how any
one man could have been expected to
deal with it. To-day mean to travel
wills and will-making.
In our law, q will is writing, by
which person aged tweuty-One or up
wards, and of sane mind, who possess
es and is entitled to property, declares
what shall be done with it after his
death 1t is considered indispensable
that a will shall be written. But there
being some exception to every rule it
it has been conceded that i'm the case of
soldiers and sailors, who, from their ac-
tual occupation may not always have
the opportunity or means of executing
legal document, shall be allowed
while in actual service to make what
is called "nuncupative will"-that
is, verbal will. But this declaration
by word of mouth, can only dispose of
the personal property of soldier Or
sailor, and such person must execute
a written will to dispose Of his real es-
tate. 1t is legal necessity, that the
parties making the will shall have "a
free and disposing" mind at the time.
Therefore, as already stated, he or she
cannot make will i'm state of luna
cy; i'm addition, he cannot sign that
or any other document i'm state of
drunkenness, nor while acting under
any fear, compulsion, or undue infiu-
ence.
, a will may be executed at any time,
so that the testatOr knows what he Is
doing, and it is necessary that at least
two witnesses witness its being signed,
who must also hear him acknowledge
it as his. No express legal form Is
necessary, and the simpler the wording
of the document the better. A a gen.
eral rule, most of the great lawyers
who have made their own wills have
made them badly. 1t is necessary that
the instrument be written, but need
not be continuously, nor yet in INK. A
will written i'm pencil will convey a
property as large rs that of the Mar
quis of Westminster, whose income is
estimated at over SO, 200 n day. If the
testatOr cannot write he can make his
mark. 1t known by an assumed name
it will answer if he sign that. In Eng
land, it is usual for a will to be signed,
sealed and delivered. That is, after
signing it, the person puts his finger on
the seal, previously or then impressed,
and says, al acknowledge this (the
to be my hand and seal, and
I deliver this as my last will and tesla
ment." In the United States, the seal
is not necessary, nor can it i'm any
country be equivalent TO a signature.
But if person should have stamp
to sign papers With, that will be suffi-
cient for his will. Henry Ill, and
George w, who were incapaciated by
bodily disability some weeks before
their respective deaths, were allowed
to have fac-simile Of their signatures
stamped on documents which required
q" the sign manual" 1t is said that |
King Henry's will was "signed'' by
this fac-simile stamp. The will of
George " waseXecuted long before his |
last illness.
A person about making Il will need
not sign it if he give authority to some
one to do SO for him, before witnesses |
i'm his presence. 1t is usual for the sig
nature to be at the top or at the bot
tom of the will, and it must appear ON |
every separate sheet; but the will would |
be valid if the signature is so placed as
to assure a court of law that il was in
tended to validate the document. Il |
have had Shakspeare's will in my
hand il is written on three sheets Of
paper sewed together at the top, and
his signature is on each sheet. The
witnesses of will must be present to-
gether when they see the testatOr sign
and acknowledge it. If "a witness can
not write he may make his mark. Any
person profiting by the will, or the
husband or wife of the testator may be
witnesses to will, but will,
forfeit any legacy which the
document may have left to him or her.
The executor of will may be wit
ness. A will made before marriage Is
revoked by such an union taking place.
There are two modes of revoking a
will. One, and by far the simplest, is
TO tear, burn or otherwise destroy It,
with the purpose of revoking it.; tlie
other way is to execute a new will, in
which it is stated that all previous wills
are hereby revoked.
Suppose that the testator cuts off his
signature and the attestations, the law
supposes that he intended to revoke or
destroy it. But, and this is very curl
Gus, if he boldly cut out of the will any
portion thereof, or draw his pen across
it, that is not legal revocation. The
accidental tearing of will does not re-
woke it. After the will Is revoked a
codicil may be executed withdrawin.
the revocation; this rcvives it. but law
,crs are at issue OH this point. When
there is any interlineation or alteration
in will, the legal presumption is, that |
it was done after signature, unless there |
be proof to the contrary. The proper
way i'm the event of interlineation, al
teration or erasiOn, is for the person
the will to sign his initials with |
the date opposite the place.
In Scotland, if Il person write tile |
whole of will with his own hand, |
dating and signing it, il will not require |
any witnesses, and is called "holo- |
graph WILL" or will written wholly |
by the person. a nuncupatiye will, or
the contrary, is not written. This tes-
tator, i'm such case, simply makes a |
public declaration that he desires to |
bestOw his property in such and such n |
way, and this is put into writing lit |
may be after his DEATH by some by
There is case in one of the law books,
il l remember rightly, where ship
wrecked person, grievously wounded |
by being dashed against the rocks,
wrote upon the sandy shore with his
finger n brief statement of the manner !
in which he desired his property to lie
disposed of after his death. In an hour |
or two the waves of the sea came up
and obliterated this transitory record. |
The man had died even before this, but !
some one saw the writing on the sand, !
asked.the dying man if it was his, re-
ceived an affirmative reply, and made |
q copy of it i'm his note book. This. OH
a tria. ut law to reco, era large amount
of property, was admitted to be valid
nuueupative will.
Let me earnestly recommend every
body who has anything to bequeatlI To
make his will while yet i'm health of
mind and body. Above all, let him
have it legally made. In ordinary
cases a cOnVeyancer or scriyener will