Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1913-06-06

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for any reason incapable of writing
he may authorize another to sign
his name for him.
Not only must a will be signed,
that in the strictest form. Some
states require but two witnesses;
others three, but it is always best
to have three witnesses. AS was point
ed out in the case of Samuel Hen
dirk, the witnesses must be persons
who have no interest in the will and
it must be seen to that neither they
nor their near relatives are to re-
ceive anything under the will.
The manner in which careful at
torney completes the accessory for
malities, having written the will it
self and secured the witnesses is
somewhat as follows: All the persons
maker and witnesseS-must be in
the same room and all in sight of
each other. The maker declares the
will to be his and writes his sigma
ture, with all the witnesses watching
him. Then each of the witnesses in
turn signs his name, the entire par
ty still. remaining together. While a
will is usually dated, this is not nee
essary No registration is required.
The original will is filed in a safe
place, usually by the maker among
his papers, and a copy put in an
other place. The copy is not will.
but is useful in proving the contents
of the will, if the instrument should
be destroyed or altered.
Having made a will and wishing to
change it, the maker has two gener
al courses open. He may write an
other will, in which he expressly re-
vokes the earlier one, or pen revo-
cation, either of which instruments
must be signed and witnessed as a
will Or he may take it, or drawing
lines through it, with the intention
of revoking it, cause it to lose all
effect as a will. In Iowa this act
must be done in the presence of wit
nesses and in all cases it is best TO
do SO.
/ On the death of the maker, those
interested in the will usually secure
the services of an attorney in hav-
ing it probated and the estate admin
istered Of course, the person named
in the will as executor may himself
place it before the probate, or sim
liar court, but he usually finds it
simpler to have a lawyer arrange
matters If no executor has been
named by the maker in his will, an
administrator is appointed by the
court 1t is the duty of executor or
administrator to care for the de-
ceaseds property and see that it is
distributed according to the terms of
the will under the direction of the
| court Of course, the will and proof
of the makers death must first be
placed before the court and the val
| idity of the will established.
| In determining the meaning of a
will the court is always guided by
the cardinal principle that the inten-
| ton of the maker of the will is to
| be determined as accurately as pos
sible from the instrument and effect
given thereto
| The task of the person making a
will is to realize it's Importance,
weigh all the possibilities carefully
and state them clearly. The task of
the lawyer is to warn the maker of
the various contingencies that may
arise in the makers peculiar circum-
stances to affect the disposition of
his property and to see that all of
the necessary formalities have been
complied with. A will is not thing
to be made hastily, Or without infor-
nation. Consider thoroughly and then
act carefully.
Copyright, 1918, by Walter K Towers
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