Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1872-03-01
Have You Made Your Will.
BY A LAWYER OF LONG EXPERIENCE

! like this that you have, 1t is undoubtedly
question of interest to you what shall
be done with it when you are gone. You
must go al some time, and may 60 very
suddenly. AT any rate, you will proba-
bly, not live nearly as long as you expect
to. If you die without will, the law
will do the best it can in making just
disposition of your property among your
relatives. Perhaps you are satisfied to
let the law do this for you. If so,
very well. But it is altogether probable
that you have some preference as to the
disposition of your property. You may
wi h to bestow some of it on charity
This the law will not do for you. You
must see to it yourself, or else let it 60
undone; and in letting it go undone, ou
may be letting very clear duty 60 un-
done, You may have some child that is
feeble in body or mind, or that has had
special misfortune and needs special con-
sideration. 1t is for you alone to consid
or this child. The law knows nothing
about its special wants and can hot pro-
vide for them. You may have no chill
dren, and may have quite a choice which
among your nephews and nieces shall
take your property. If so, you must see
to it. The law will not select for you
The rich and the poor. the deserving and
the undeserving, will all take alike
You may have an adopted daughter
whom you have accustomed to comforts
and perhaps luxuries, who will be left
penniless unless you provide for her.
You must remember her and not trust to
the law to DO 1t. And you may, with a
rare sense of justice, recognize the right
of your good wife to a more ample al
lowance for her comfort than the law
would give her. If SO, it is for you to
think of and provide for her. The law
does not know what remarkably good
wife she is, and what special claim she
has upon you, and gives her only her fix
ed and too limited portion, dividing the
rest, if you have no children, among col
lateral relatives, some of whom perhaps
you never saw. Consider well then,
whether it is not clear duty to those
you love, or to some good objects that
you might aid, for you to make will.
And now, in the second place, if you
have made up your mind that you ought
to make will, let me say to you most
empbaticaly, make It no'0. You don't
know how soon you will die. Your only
sure way is to attend to it at once. If
you put it off from day to day, you will
probably never make one. The fact
that so many wills are made by men on
their death-beds, shows how often per-
sons who intend to make a will, and
would be very sorry to die without one,
neglect it till they find themselves just
about to die. Now let me give you three
reasons against postponing the making
of your will till you are fatally sick, ell
ther of which is reason enough of itself
l. "You may never have any such sick
ness. You may drop down dead, or be
killed in railroad accident, or be burn
ed up or be blown up or drowned. 2. If
you have lesurely death-bed time of
it, your mind will be enfeebled things
thatyou could easily havesettled by a little
thought when you were we'll, will trouble
and perplex you, and you will very like
ly decide them unwisely and wrongly
| g. Your will thus made, may be contest
ed, and will really invite parties adverse
| ly interested to contest it, on the ground
of your feeble condition, of which evil
dence can be easily obtained and, as a
result, your will is either set aside and
all your plans defeated, or, if it is sus-
tanned, half your property may be spent
in litigation and lifelong family quar-
rel engendered.
And now, in the third place, if you
are so thoughtful and prudent as to have
made will, another more important
matter is to be considered. Do you keep
your will revised and adapted to new
circumstances Has your property doub-
| led since the will was made? Then prob
ably you want to give more to your wife,
more to A, more to b, more to the Lord.
Consider this. Have you given to one
of your children piece of real estate
as his fair share of the property, and
have you since sold that real estate so
that that child will get nothing unless
your will is changed? Look well to this.
The writer, who has had long experience
as lawyer, can recall many cases where
most unfortunate results have followed
from the neglect TO keep a will in order.
Everybody has heard of the Washburn
will case. Alter the will was made by
which Mr.. Washburn had made ample
provision for cherished wife in certain
valuable stock, the stock was SO changed
in form as not to answer the description
of the will, and long and still pending
controversy has grown out of it.
And now, in the fourth place, let me