The sun., 1901-08-11
FACTS ABOur wOMENs WILLS.
PecuIIarities which . LAWYER sa,s Are
Common.

IL probably the case, but II II the excep
tional brevity that goes to prove the usual
prolixity of the Wills Of women.
As a rule, when I am summoned to
record tho tesla entary directions OF
woman l 20 prepared for long siege ri
writing and advising. To start with.
woman has greater variety OF belongings
10 beoueath than q man, or, II tho chatteii
are not really more varied, abe, herself
estsblishes q iins Of distinction and divides
them into moro classes. man, wnen
making his viii. IL given TO sensreh:ins
A woman, on the other hand. psrticularises
and where the masculine devisor will take
| a act OF objects, or a group OF sets. for that
matter. and lump them all on to one legatee,
she will scatter the same things around
among score Of friends or relations.
THE strangest part Of this writing OF
feminine wills Is that no matter now
positive and concise Of thought the testatnx
may be on ordinary occasions. the minute
she sets out to make preparations FOR the
post-mortem distribution Of her property
she becomes uncertain OF herself Inc
mainstays OF her wealth. such "a real estate
and a bank account. she Will propapiy
be sure about, but the minor bequests
cause ner endless trouble and she IL bound
10 take I'D each item separately ana argue
its appropriateness as a gift TO this per-
son and that and explain with minutenese,
what each. in turn, has done to merit re-
membrance. II all these considerations
could be threshed over and settledprivately,
before my interview begins, lwoulont
mind the tortuousness OF the channels
lnk ab
slons, but when the pros and cons are re-
served for my own judgment and 1 am
expected to decits upon each provision
the prospect certainly does not make
lawyer tingle with thrills Of pure delight.
Then, too. women are iaddy SooHs
their wills. Every little while someDody
with A bump for statistics forages around
through legal literature and brings TO
lieht a number OF testamentary curiosities.
In ALI tbese reeurrections II Ia found that
the majority Of freak bequests were de-
vised by women. Personally ! have drawn
up but few Of these outlandish wills where
the money was hidden away under hooin
Hoods barn, OF the legatee was 70 come
into his own only by the Accomplishment
OF some unreasonable, crazy task imposed
upon him, but my experience has boon
s,,fF1ciently varied to show me that women
are fond OF bizarre effects In the matter
OF bestowing their riches.
Another peculiarity OF womens rs, ris %
quests TO haritable enterprises. This state
Inent Is. OF course, made In q broad sense
There have been some notable gifts 10
public institutions by wealthy women
but il Is q fact that when the average woman
Of means comes to die she loses sient OF
the stranger at her gates and enrtchee
those endeared to her by ties OF blood
and friendship, TO the exclusion OF homes
and reformatores that stand ny waiting
for a contribution. The cause OF this ap-
parent lack OF generosity Is undoubtedly
due TO the fact that the charity OF many
woman is personally conducted and that
benefcaries have been completed pri-
yately and on cash basis prior TO the
writing of the will But however often
this explanation may hold good, certain II
IL that when ten men and ten women equaiiyy
endowed with the good things OF the world
come to attend TO their wills. Ave OF the
men will bequeath some small sum 20
inclined to a similar bensfaction.
And this brings me 20 another feature
OF womens wills. All things considered,
| must confess that women are disposed
10 be unjust In their wills. In the past
twenty years I have drawn up hundreds
OF wills whose terms were so obviously
Iin lust In certain particulars that actually
fell ashamed Of myself for writing them,
which Is a pretty strong assertion, COM
inc from a lawyer. This injustice Is par
ticularly manifest in the case Of step
children. have known many women
who were good 10 their husbands children
so far as physical care OF them went. yet
when il came 10 handling the financial
affairs Of the family the children were sure !
to suffer through the transaction
There IL one class OF dependents, how
ever, upon which women who make wills |
lavish money without stint, and that Is
pet animals. There was a time when a |
will which contained a clause authorizing |
the trustees to invest several thousand |
dollars for the support OF cat or dog was !
matter for newspaper comment, but !
nowadays unless the bequest IL excessive
such items are not considered worthy OF |
mention. There are animals in this town
private homes and dogs boarding houses,
and all their expenses, which are never /
ight, are paid through the kindness OF
mist ress whose last thought was for them
But manifestly absurd and unjust
though the wills Of many women are. II is
seldom that one Of them. IL contested. The
same document, dictated by man, would
be hauled about in the courts for
wears but somehow the general opinion Is
that IL il better to take tho will OF woman
at its face value. and all concerned usually
resign themselves 10 peaceable accep-
lance Of lls prONisloLs.
Another point worth noting about
womens wills Ia the number OF changes
they are apt To undergo, even after having
been approved and attested. Frequently
the most trifiing change in the circumstances
Of a legatee will, in the opinion Of the tes-
tatrix, necessitate a rewriting Of the whole
will had a case In point only few months
ago client up on Fifty-fourth street
had finally succeeded, after much worry
and tribulauoa, in distributing her be-
longings where she believed they would do
most good and win the most appreciation.
Even her thinbles had been bequeathed
with solemn care. and one of them. a par
ticulary heavy gold affair, had been de-
cided upon, after due deliberation, as a
proper gift for a cousin in the next block.
Shortly after the making Of the will
this particular cousin had the misfortune
to raise felon on her finger, and when
the wound finally healed the finger was 10
thrunken that the thimble was about three
sizes too large for IL. Neither would II
III any Of the other fingers, and my client,
In her perplexity over having willed away
someth hing that would prove entirely useless
10 tho recipient concluded that the only
way out of the difficulty was to make new
who could wear IL and at the same time
flch something from another beneficiary
and transfer II TO the lady with the boneless
inger. This, 20 lie sure. was ar extreme
,ase Of eccentrcity, but there are many
instances where, although tho causes for
change are almost as slight. the women