Evening star., 1896-09-19

IN WHICH CltlZen re-
Whh ~RN II - Gently deceased had
VM~W N~ contemplated dispos-
N<E Ing of all his earthly
80 possessions.
"A will once filed in this Office" said the
register. remains among the records and
cannot be removed. AS soon as filed, dup
licate typewriter copies verbatim ct lite
ratim are made of each will. The original
Is then carefully filed in the safe and not
removed until the subscribing witnesses ap-
pear for the purpose of proving their sigma
lures. Subsequently petition Is, or rather
should be, filed in this court praying that
the will be admitted to probate and record,
and that letters testamentary issue to the
person named therein as executor
IF will fails to nominate an executor.
by whom is the petition you have men-
toned made?
Usually by the next of kin or some per-
son in interest as a beneficiary or creditor,
who asks that letters of administration
cum testamento annexo; that is, with
copy of the will annexed, be granted to the
petitioner some person or persons, usual
ly the one that would be entitled to admin
lister in the event of the deceased having
died intestate; that is, without having made
will. After the court has signed an order
admitting the will to probate and record,
the same is recorded by expert clerks in one
of our large volumes, the recording being
as near exact copy of the original as
possible. every error, interlineation or mis-
spelled word being recorded as written.
The copyist cannot undertake to edit
the work. or make the slightest change in
punctuation or grammatical construction.
After being recorded the original will and
the record copy are carefully compared by
experienced clerks, and then the original
PAPER Is filed away in our vaults. The lat
ter contain all wills probated and recorded,
ylrc.I h lob mot haava civ
the year 1871, with possibly a few eXcep
tionS."
Important Papers Neglected.
ITS this course followed with all wills
flsd in this court?'
unfortunately no. With the uninform-
ed and inexperienced the idea is general
that it Is only necessary to deposit will
in this Office and there they stop. We have
among our files a very large number of
Wills with which nothing has been done
since filing. They have been accumulat
irg each year. and, although some of
them apparently dispose of considerable
property, they remain neglected and with
out attention. The danger from this might
prove very serious or work great incon-
venience, should the subscribing witnesses
die or move to parts unknown.
Search for them or for people acquaint-
ed with their handwriting might, you
see, involve much time and expense. Then,
| too, there is no permanent record of these
cur, which is hardly probable, would be
| irreparable. There is one case now be-
| fore the court in which the will was filed
| several years ago. and the parties are
row, and have been for several months,
| trying to find the witnesses to the docu
| ment. but so far without success"
about how many wills are filed here
| in the course Of year and what pro-
portion of them remain unrecorded and
! unprobated?'
I'm the year 1895, which may serve as
| an Illustration, 1913 original wills were filed
| in this office. OF this number 273 have re-
| ceived attention at the hands of the par
| ties interested. but with the remaining
| sixty wills no steps have been taken toward
| probating and recording. In some instances
| 1T is doubtless thought unnecessary to pro-
| bate the will, and we often find that where
| a will passes title to some small property
f'cr estate the benefciaries are not able to
! pay for the proceedings and their ex-
| pense.
How to Probate a VIII.
What are the requisites of an applica-
| ton for probate of will or for admins
tration on an estate?"
| 1.-The rules are clear On this point
Every application must be made In writing
and set forth clearly the citizenship and
residence Of the petitioner the right in
which he makes the application. the date
| of death of deceased, as well as his domicile.
| the estimated value of the personal estate.
| the character thereof and where situated,
and whether the decedent died testate.
that Is, leaving will. or intestate, without
making a will; the names of the next kin,
whether residents, adults minors; If mi
nors their respective ages. Under an act Of
Ger gress approved January IL, 1887, If a Will
| requests that an executor be not required
to give bond for the performance of his
duties the only security required is one
sufficient to secure the payment of the
debts due by the testator. Hence, in such
Instances, the application must state the
lop of
You speak only of personal estate. Does
not the petition have to set forth the value
of the real estate of the deceased?'
mo, since 1t has been repeatedly de-
cided that the Supreme Court of the Dis
trct, upon the application for probate of 4
will, has no authority to determine its suf-
wills and of probate existing in Mary
lard on February q, 1901, is the law of
the District of Columbia, excepting as
since altered by Congress. The older laws
Of the state of Maryland concerning wills.
executors and guardians, were amended or
codifed by the statute of 1T9S ch. 1O1.
This statute did not authorize the probate
of wills of real estate, but it made full and
Orphans Court Of any will or codicil con-
tanning any disposition relative to goods
chattels or personal estate.
| Effect of Probate.
"By the act Of Congress of July o. 1883
1t was provided that the record of any will
| or codicil heretofore or hereafter recorded
| In this Office which shall have been ad
| mitted to probate shall be prima facie evt
dence Of the contents or due execution o
| such will and codicils.' Under this act
was contended that effect was given to tn
| probate OF a will in reference to title t
real estate. But the Supreme Court of tn
| United States at its last session, in tn
! case OF Campbell VS.. Porter held that thi
construction of the statute was erro
Eeous; hence we are at present without
statute covering wills devising real estat
as far as the probate of such wills is con
] cerned. At the last session of Congress
remedial bill was introduced to cure thi
defect but it has not yet matured int
law"
What Is the distinction between res
estate and personal estate?"
"By real property is meant land, and ger
| orally whatever is erected or growing upo
or affixed to land, such as houses and build
ings; also rights, issuing out of, annexed Il
| exercisable within or about the same; Will
| the essential idea of personal property
| that of nronartv q thing NOVA BILE ser