The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1892-07-28

The will of j. D. Ingersoll, who dis
inherited his nearest of kin and gave
his entire estate to utter strangers, was
successfully contested on the ground of
undue influence.
The brothers of Daniel r. Lvddv
made n vain attempt to secure pos
session of tho estate, which was DC
queathed to the wife, Mime. Connolly,
whose smuggling experiences are still
fresh in the public mind.
But the disinheritancc of both wife
and children is by no means infrequcnt.
Isaac Halscy, tho millionaire, dispos-
sessed both wife and son and their con-
test was absolutely in vain.
In the Astor family the practical dis
inheritance of Henry Astor marks q
precedent for the last will of William
,Astor. Nor was this act of inheritance
single in its enforcement. 1t was q
specific part of tho will of the second
John Jacob and of the late William
.Astor as well.
Another instance of disinhcritancc
was that Of Malcolm Ford, the noted
athlete. The millions of the father
were left entirely to two crippled sons,
nor has the stronger brother ever by
fathers last wishes
But there is n shade of Injustice in
these laws of inheritance which l found
have not been materially changed for
half century. There was an old
Roman law which permitted court to
throw ont will entirely if it was ap-
parently unjust to heirs On this the
French law of inheritance is based. But
1,c1,
much alike, and if the testator dies clear
headed any disposition of his estate he
may decree is construed to the letter.
Perhaps the most famous of New.
Iork's probate lawyers is ex-Surrogatci
Rollins, and to him I went for informa-
ton as to necessary changes in the laws
governing wills and inheritances.
I'VE really have very sensible law in
this state" said he, Though it might
be wise to limit the testamentary power
SO as to make it impossible for tesla
tor to cut off his wife and children. AS
it is now the wife is not we'll protected.
Her one-third life interest is of no par
ticular value In fact, there is no inhi-
bition against giving away the entire
estate to strangers. :.
Grounds for contest? They are very
few. One is the charge of undue influ,
cnce, the other is incapacity, and the
third is insufficient execution. BY this
latter l mean failure to follow the laws
directions in the construction of n last
will. We have no 'inofficious' wills,
such as are provided for in the code
now in operation in Franco. That
contains at least the principle of the
old Lex Romano, which provided for
the annulmcnt of wills that are unnat-
ural and patiently unjust The English
law is like ours; or rather ours is framed
on it.
For fifty years there has been no
change in the essential features of the
law of wills or the law of inheritances.
There are three statutes, you know,
that of wills, that of descent and that
of distribution. That of descent re-.
lates exclusively to realty and that of
distribution to personal property. They
do not differ materially"
asked Mr.. Rollins if it was possible
for testator to provide in any way for
keeping an estate practically intact, as
it was believed was being done with the
estate which has descended through
from the original John Jacob Astor to
William Waldorf Astor.
''Nol There is no way of doing this.
1t cannot be done by the interposition
of trust proviso or otherwise. A tes-
tator has absolutely no power to con-
troll the disposition of his estate, or any
part of it. beyond the last survivor Of
two specified persons in existence at
the time of his own death"
i.-s. DAVID WECHsLER
-
He-Darling, if 1 give you such an
expensive engagement ring, we can't