The weekly Iberian. (New Iberia, La.) 1894-1946, 1913-04-19

below his The result was that
neither the wife nor tho daughter
could take any property under the
will, for it il u general rule Of law
that no one who witnesses a will
may take any benefit or receive
anything from that will. Had
Samuel Hendrix possessed a bit
more information Of the law he
would have called others as wit
nesses and his wishes could have
been enforced
This illustrates but one Of the
many pitfalls into which one may
fall in the very important task Of
drafting his will. The prepara
ton Of q will il usually task for
An attorney, and q good one, but
there are cases Of emergency
when 4 lawyers services are not
readily obtainable. II the estate
is small and not scattered. and
the disposition that il to be made
OF it is simple, direct aud clearly
understood it requires no great
knowledge to draft an effective
will. In any event some lnforma
ton Of the laws governing the dis
position Of property on death il
interesting, rs we'll as decidedly
useful.
A will il ever . fascinating in
strumtDt. The preparation Of it
10 serious matter and into it the
maker puts his deliberate and
well-cOns!dered thought. Thus it
goes far toward revealing the real
spirit Of the maker. The words
Of the will are the words y man
desires to leave when he has pass
cd beyond; they display his true
attitude towards friends and re'a-
tivos.
Death is the great inevitable.
Tax dodgers arc famous, but
death dodgers have thus far
achieved no DOtorlety. The will
10 made id appreciation Of the in.
ovitable end aud takes effect upon
decsase. 1t il thus that Que may
be assured that his wishes in re.
gard to the disposition Of his
property will be regarded after
death The power to make Q vii
has not always been recognized
by Law. The will is stated to bt
OF Roman origin, but, be that a.
Il may, the power to will IL nov
firmly established aud recognized
BY law.
| 10 make q will requires
mental capacity We often heal
OF instruments drawn as will'
which are set aside by the court,
because the maker was lacking il
intellect. The mental capacity
that IL required to make y vii
msy be enumerated ~ follows: |
Ability to understand the nature
OF . will and that the maker is en-
gagged in making bis will. 2
Ability to know and keep 10 mind
the various items Of his property
Ability to know and keep in mint
the members Of the family aDt
others entitled TO the makers
bounty. In general, any person
or full age possessing the menta
capacity described above, and no
subject to some special legal disa
bility, may make valid and bind
iDg will 10 the majority Of th'
states the full age OF twenty on
years 10 required Of both sexes be
fore the power to make = will i
granted.
Married women we're fOrmerl.
denied the right to will thei
property, but modern statute
quite generally give them tina
privilege. Of course. NJ insan
person, lacking the required meI
tal qualifications, cannot make
will, nor can infants under age
lin most states.
i The hrst great requisite OF
will 10 that 1t shall be IN writing
|. . This does not near that it nee
be written 10 long g-hand. thong
that 10 the most desirable Of q
ways when the maker il preparin
his own will. Typewriter will
|, srd printed Wills, with the blank
filled IN, are common, aud will
i have been held valid when prepal
} Cd il many unusual ways 0
: strange substitutes for paper Z
parchment. The prudent alto
ney, in preparing sewill, alway
sees % II that the entire iDstr'
ment IL fastened together. Thu
lif tho will consists Of several typ
lprintsd Of printed sheets, the ls'
lof Which alono ID signed. anotht
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