The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-08-07
WILLS NOT EASILY BROKEN.
PROF REEHES CORRECTS a NOTION
ENTERTAINER CONN oNLr.

WI HuNNFbN- NNHulEFuhNuNa ~ Y "
Statutes Regarding wills-Curious FormI
of NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Will Contests
Wills are almost as ancient rs the hills. The
average layman believes that q will is very
easily broken. 1t Is certain that wills provide
much occupation for lawyers. Last year Q
young man who was graduated at the New
York Law School. referring TO the ovcrcrowded
condition Of the profession. exclaimed:
How on earth q young lawyer IL 10 make q
living | cant understand. for 1 see no way"
on" answered his older brother at the bar,
where there's II will. there's a way and SO
many lawyers and laymcn think.
Prof. Alfred q. Reeves, lecturer on wills and
real estate at the New York Law School, is not
OF this opinion. lie says that very few wills are
broken, and he ought to know, for he has spent
years OF study on tho subject. When asked
why 1t was that Wills were easily broken, he
parted the question with another.
Are they - ne asked. Il think not" he
continued, answering his own question. The
average person knows very little on the gen
eral subject OF Wills. | ran across such an in
t%eresting thing only IA few days ago rclntive to
the antiquity Of wills. 1t seems that two wills
were recently discovered with some mummies
in Kahun. formerly llihun. Egypt. The evil
dcnce was such that It is practically certain
thnt ono of tho wills was put there In the year
1850 i. G. and the other in the year
1900 Il. C.. The last one was executed. at
tested. and witnessed by two persons IN SUBJ
stantially the same way that wills are exc
cuted. attcstcd, and witnessed in New York
State to-day.
Human nature is queer when II comes to
Wills continued Prot. Reeves. warming to his
subject. There Is "a natural feeling in the
human mind which wants to run counter to
what the consensus of public opinion regards
as the best. way to dispose of property after
death. All the, same. l donut believe that many
wills are overthrCwn: the great malOri'y stand.
Indeed. the great majority that arr contested
STAN, and, are carried out. ~
are easily broken - asked the. reporter.
Tint Is easily explained. When a will like
the ridden vii! or the F~Nyerwcathcr will is CON
and is widely .'IiscGssod> Thus 'i tic IIISnGsr
mind gets the idea that Wills are easily broken.
whereas 10000 Wills are admitted to probate
and sustained whore one is ovcrthrown.
Why are wills overthrown : ~ the first
and put of making a Will until mind and body
are broken, until tcstamcntary ~cqracity is gone,
60 wills ale overthrown. on the ground Of IN
due influence or mental coercion. as well AS in
with tho fact already mentioned, As /
snii, the public has schcmG, for the dis,
the theory on which the viii in modern times is
based is, that ii the ~tcstator is going TO run
counter 10 the provisions that the State has
made. the evidence Of his having made "a valid
wi! and as 10 !n5t what that will contains must
of wills is hcdEcd about by very exact statutory
Requirements, !. ,r,.o,
proved nillrmativcly by the proponcnt. aud In
most instances by two witnesses, even though
the overthrowipg Of SO. many wills really in
y"lvcs two heads. One is that 80 many people
pohody has ever dome before. Each man has
his wi pet indiridunl scheme anu insists upon
dsyi iss means sG i@ yvnfa i "S} iia% SYf Il th Il be be has n5.l to
nIIsited T4 fof aSed'PF a" a nrHne vt IKE. h. done tS by G.s a S' bEs
ItlInA nv nh Zoos 10 "a InWNnr III |
Is done in a regulation way. butwhsni it comes
to making Will c, r. " result of ret schemes,
mits. This is illustrated in, Il" %ddisposiI-
charity. The attempt to check thai disIosi.
ton very early led to statutes prescribing
and under what circumstances, A%.statute ex-
ists which forhids the ~testator who leaves a
The attempt to evade that statute led to the
That case involved a question of the right to
give more than 9ne,balI of an estate
they should anply lis rcsidnarY estates TO
court SAIL that a t]estat9r could not do by
piish by means Of a direct gift. and that
The Cxse1t9rs could not be allowed to Keep
ba n fraud ~! the t%estat6r: that they couii not
ne prrnitteh % carry %ut their trust. hcc4nse
tluI WDull De I'll evasion OF the statute, The
executors Therefore held the property for tho
benefit Of thG heirs aud next Of Kin Of TIM tesla;
their interest in the estate, ana. a. they were
the only ones who could raise this point, the
.las.s imr SsFG h RSana 9n to "P Ry l6s OFT ,t.t f. secret
aThis desire to do something, individual in
regard , to opbS 1 VII crops out in the wish of the
and accomplished property 70 control the des-
] ffi%1l5i9n s 90 t lhat RrG nSG II. h BSi like eS6 tt , GsNSr his Is
separated. This tendency in t~estators has al
ways had to be resisted, ~ the law, because TO
II out Of tho market, and cause business TO
etagnate. In England YOU can leave property
twenty-one years and a fraction over: il New
York you can tie It up TO two people only who
one years and a fraction. THAT holds good In
regard TO- real property and not p%ersonal per-
1T Is safe 70 say that nIne-tentHhs Of the Ill.,.
Ga TO- oyer wills has something to do with one
S Si'nsF SfSt 'YMil M. Fii IR GHsr Mifi w %r tN %it 9t4sf tito to
With ati i f1a IA : "sS ! sSTgS'SS "t It yiSfst I'd the II C TSaniTsl
mot b thar t a gig n iHG OGhIarit"bIf nuFP9ses should
during the lIyss Of his nephew and
have formed tho corporation to be known as the
Tildfshn Tr } to gym and manage a free library
the three millions to that corporation. Had
Mr.. Tilden, stPilcd, there his will would
their ehiTr S aiserc;tio nut his % exScn,o that tb IL IL
best to devote some OF the money or ali
OF II to other charities they, might give
Judgment should be most widely Beneficial to
panklnd. Here he. violated the then existinE
New York rule which forbade gifts to indcinite
charity IN that way. After his will was over
THROWN that rule was changed by statute and
purposes In New York. though the charities
named are indefinite.
which wills can Ig attacked. One +, that the
testator hasn't the capacity to make a will.
another IL that undue influence has been
his own, so that If he could speak he would say.
This will IL not my will, ' The third Is that
tho testatOr attempts tp do what the law will
not permit, The fourth ground we have not
discussed. and that Is the iailure OF the testator
To execute his will.
Different States and countries have different
requirements as To how wills shall be executed,
some being more stringent than others. Tho
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