Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-06-21
MAKING Of AW|LL
A HAZARDOUS TASK
Daniel S. Remsen Tells of
Care Necessary to Make
Testaments Safe.
j. PIERPONT MORGAN
LEFT MODEL DOCUMENT
Will of Edward H. Hartman Not a
Safe Guide for Others
to Follow.

| PITTSBURGH, June 21.-Danel S
Remsen of the New York bar, an au
thority on the post-mortem administra
ton of wealth told the members of the
Pennsylvania Bankers Association today
that the wills of the late Edward Fl
Hartman. Albert c. Bostwick. Charles
T. Yerkes. Henry B. Plant, Mrs. Mary
Baker G. Eddy. Robert Mather and other
prominent persons he mentioned Were
unsafe models to follow. AS type OF
the safe and sound will he cited the
will of J. Pierpont Morgan. Mr. Rem
sens address. delivered at the annual
meeting of the association. was entitled
"A Plea for the Scientific Preparation OF
Wills"
| The way to get better wills. said Mr.
| Remsen. was to make them" Lawyers
were able and willing if that service was
! demanded. The client he said must
| give his lawyer fair chance and de-
mand his best service. When his will
| is complete he must demand that it be
tested while he is alive and able to re-
pair any defects or antiquities that may
| be discovered. This method. he added,
produced the will of Mr. Morgan.
''Safe" and Sound" Wills.
A safe will Mr. Remsen defined as
one free from danger. The word sound
he said, meant without flaw" The
safe will was one SO written as to insure
the fulfllment of the makers wishes.
The sound will was one that could be en-
the result the maker wished. The Har-
riman will, he asserted. was clearly
sound, but must be classed as unsafe.
The will of the late Samuel j. Tilden
was cited as conspicuous example OF
the will that was both unsafe and I'M
sound
For Mr.. Harriman'S purpose" he said.
his Will is not open to criticism. When,
however, it becomes the subject of great
praise in the public press a model for
the preparation of other wills l cannot.
in justice to the thousands of innocent
people all over this country who have
copied this will as their own, let this OPP
portunity pass without sounding note
of warning. Do not misunderstood me.
Mr.. Hartman and his lawyers knew the
conditions with which they were dealing.
They were preparing Mr.. Hartman s
I will. not a precedent for other wills.
Bostwick Will Is Cited.
For an example of a perfectly sound
will that is exceedingly unsafe and liable
to defeat the wishes of it's maker let us
refer to the will of the late Albert c.
Bostwick, son of Jabez A. Bostwick Of
Standard Oil fame. His will was sub
stantially the same as the Hartman
will. Like Hartman, Bostwick gave
everything to his wife. The important
difference in the two cases was created
by the family circumstances. BOstwick
had four children born to him after he
made his will and Hartman none. Mrs.
Hartman took all the property given to
her by her husband. Mrs Bostwick did
not. The four Bostwick children born
after the. making of the will took the
bulk of the estate as if no will had been
made. Mrs. Bostwick took what was left
and the child born before the making Of
the will took nothing.
THE late Henry B. Plant, the prin-
cipal owner of the great Plant system of
railroads in Florida. was also a resident
of New York. He took chances with the
rule against perpetuities, and his huge
trust for the benefit of his descendants
wholly failed and in effect his will was
adjudged void The cost of the litigation
concerning this will is also said to have
been enormous, exceeding half "a million
of dollars on both sides.
What does this mean? 1t means that
too little attention is given TO the plan
and preparation of the will When he
has finished with his instructions the
chances are more than even that his law
| yer finds 1t difficult If not impossible, to
accomplish ali his client wishes"