The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-02-14

@0EvERAL cases have come to the
notice of the public lately where
men who have possessed large
Ik3{$i estates have died without making
- wills In some of these instances
serious complications have arisen and large
lawsuits have resulted. In other cases. now
ever. no trouble has been experienced by the
relatives for each took an equal share or
what was left and was satisfied. However,
by these cases being given such publicity
IL IS often wondered by the average person
whether men who possess wealth are not
negIectful about such things. and keep put
ting them off until IL Is too late.
number Of prominent lawyers were seen
the other day and asked II such was not
the state Of affairs, and they were unani-
nous in saying that they were not. They
all contended that the average man who
had either large property interests or bonds
Of any worth in the majority of instances
left requests. and that these wills, as a
rule are drawn up in such explicit man
ner that there are no grounds on which to
contest them. They say that the reason
people often think wealthy men are neglect
full about such an important item is that
once in a great while some man of prom
inence dies without leaving a will, and the
among his relatives. Then sometimes, when
people OF large estates die, a relative who
thinks he has not been literally enough pro-
vided for will bring the case into court for
the purpose of having the will contested.
He will. of course. endeaver to prove that
the testator was unduly influenced. but such
cases. lawyers say, are rare, and 1t is the
publicity given them that makes people
think they are so numerous. and they say
there are hundreds of wills probated each
year from which no lawsuit results and are
never heard of by the people at large.
They contend that II Is not as easy
matter to have will broken as people are
often under the impression that 1t is They
say that IL has TO be proved explicitly that
the testator was unduly influenced in max
ing the provisions in the bequest, or that
he was of unsound mind when the docu-
ment was drawn up. or that the relative
who is contesting the has not been
provided for as he really deserves. They
further claim that there is not one will in
a hundred that is ever brought into court
for the purpose of being contested.
WHAT EX-MAYOR DENNY SAYS.
Mr.. Caleb S. Denny was among the num-
Der asked about Wills and said:
who possess bonds or stocks in companies.
leave wills so that their relatives will have
no trouble IN settling their estates. 1t
might be said that this is almost universal
i have never attempted to compile any
statistics on this subject. but merely make
the statement from my experience a
lawyer. 1 know that people are often
der the impression that If they make a will
IL will be dragged into court and their rela-
tfves will wrangle over IT, and that their
original desires will be set aside; but peo-
pie who think of the hundreds of wills that
are probated each year and how few of
them are ever brought into court 70 be
contested they would change their opinion
In my experience L have found that the
average man OF wealth is very careful
about such things. and has his will drawn
up so that there is the slightest
chance for the will to be broken.
1.-The average man who has had no real
estate or bonds or anything OF that nature,
and who has a salary TO live on. seldom has
a Will drawn, but in rare Instances such is
the case. The men who leave wills and who
really need them those who have large
properties and whose wealth amounts to
considerable. If a will. however is properly
drawn, there are no grounds TO set it aside,
and consequently people who have anything
TO leave should not neglect having this i'm
portant document drawn up, for If they
don't serious complications are apt to arise
after their death. Instances of having the
will set aside are not near so numerous as
people often imagine. Because possibly one
VIII in hundred is brought into court and
contested many people think that wills are
unsatisfactory
1T Is also much more difficult thing TO
have will set aside than the average per-
son thinks. Mr.. Denny continued To do
this, Of course. it has to be proved that the
testator was OF unsound mind or was un-
duly influenced when the document was
written. The latter charge is more often
made In the eontesting of wills by relatives
who feel as If they have been sighted by
the provisions of the testator. Often it hap
pens that when a suit for breaking a will
is brought it is done so by some distant
relative who thinks that there might be a
chance TO get something of the estate
that is. il il is n large one-and where very
distant relatives come in for their share
the estate is generally Of considerable pro-
portions The relatives who contest the will
have nothing TO lose and everything 10 gain,
and they go into the contest with that
spirit-in fact, IL Is more OF game of
chance than anything else. Once in "A while
noticeable case comes into court where
the will Is set aside. as was done here some
years ago after the death OF a prominent
man In Indiana, and this leads people imme-
dlately 10 come 10 the conclusion that wills
are OF no Importance and can be set aside
by court without trouble"
SOMETIMES SET ASIDE.
Mr.. Denny was asked if sometimes wills
were not set aside for deserving relatives,
and replied:
Yes. there are instances where often
some relative who deserves portion of an
estate is left entirely out. Whether this is
done by the testator Intentionally or wheth-
er undue influence is brought to bear upon
him has to be proved to the satisfaction of
the jury and court Sometimes a case
comes up where a viii is contested nv a de-
serving relative where the evidence Is so
nearly equal on both sides that IL Is a hard
matter 20 tell just which side has the better
OF II. but II the contestor shows explicitIv
that he mas been of service 10 the festator
as Is often the case with women relaffves
~ho have acted in the capacity OF house