The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1884-06-20
HOMEMADE WILLS.

No person should write his own Will unless
there be urgent need for it. Perhaps more
litigation has arisen from this cause than any
other The most experienced lawyers, not
even excepting learned judges, III making
their own Wills have been known to fail, not,
however, in making simple requests, Tor III
that man of fair intelligence and education
could scarcely go wrong, but IN trying TOO
much in the way of complex and alternative
and contingent destination-in short, LOOKING
too deeply into the future. A man OF standing
and one who is constantly In the habit OF
drawing such documents should be employed.
Nothing is saved by being too parsimonlous
in this respect.
If any man is determined to write his own
will let him do SO in plain English, setting
forth as clearly as he can what he has clearly
and definitely resolved to do. All legal terms
and phrases, Notwithstanding the learning
they may display ought to be avoided. Chill
dren, if mentioned, ought to be called by their
names, and such expressions as 'heirs, sue
cessors, issue, heirs of the body" ETC., never
certain legal Interpretation, which may differ
from what the testator intended. There is no
use, either, in inserting long string of words
like "give. grant, devise, legate, bequeath
convey, dispose and make over" Although
most of the legal peculiarities attaching to
these words are now swept away, their repetl-
ton only leads to confusion. All printed
forms of wills should be rejected as danger
Gus, at least in so far as their meaning is not
quite clear. If no legal aid is at hand, let the
party express his wishes on paper IN plain,
simple Saxon, just as if he were telling a
friend a story or writing letter expressing
his wishes And let him not forget to sign it.
as has been the case with many an amateur
will-mdker.
The same rules apply to codicils. They
may be executed at the testator's pleasure; ;
but if they make changes upon or partial re-
vocation of the original will, great care should
be taken that these are clearly expressed. The
will and each of the codicils should be dated
although this is not essential, if their provis-
ions do not clash. When two testamentary
provisions are clearly inconsistent, the latter
revokes the earlier, and a will disposing of the
whole estate, real and personal, heritable and
movable, by implication of law revokes all
prior wills Litigation often arises from de-
fects in the written instrument but still more
frequently from the author of will not hav-
ing clearly thought out what he intends to do;
or having partly altered his mind or having
forgotten what he has done in some earlier
codicil, which has fallen out of sight on a
loose fiy-leaf, and bequeathed the same ring
or piece of plate, or other memento, to two
different persons or left the same money
legacy twice over to the same person or mis-
named some college or other charitable insti-
tuition or failed to distinguish two of similar
names; or, worse than all, has delayed his
duty of Z" setting the house in order until
disease has weakened or destroyed the ''sound
disposing mind, " and left the kindly wishes
and benevolent hopes of hfetime-long
cherished, but expressed, perhaps, too late
to battle of medical men or legal theories
about insanity or the accidents of jury trial.
A very simple and an effective cure for Gin