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

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 preparation of will
is usually a task for an attorney, and
a good one, but there are cases OF
emergency when lawyers services
are not readily Obtainable. IT the es-
tate is small and not scattered and
the disposition that is to be made
of it is simple, direct and clearly un-
derstood it requires no great knowl-
edge to draft an effective will. In
any event some information of the
laws governing the disposition of
property on death is. interesting. as
we'll as decidedly useful
A will is ever a fascinating in
strument The preparation of it is
serious matter and into it the ma
ker puts his deliberate and well-con-
sidered thought Thus it goes far
toward revealing the real spirit OF
the maker The words of the will are
the words a man desires to leave
when he has passed beyond; they
display his true attitude toward
friends and relatives.
Death is the great inevitable. Tax
dodgers are famous, death dodgers
have thus far achieved no notOriety.
The will is made in appreciation of
the inevitable end and takes effect
upon decease. 1t. is thus that one
may be assured that his wishes in
regard to the disposition of his
property will be regarded after death.
The power to make will has not
always been recognized by law. The
will is stated to be of Roman ori-
gin, but, be that as it may, the pow
er to will is now firmly established
and recognized by law.
To make a will requires mental ca
pacity We often hear of instruments
drawn as wills which are set aside
by the courts because the maker IVES
lacking in intellect. The mental ca
pacity that is required to make
will may be enumerated as follows:
l.. Ability to understand the nature
of will and that the maker is en-
gagged in making his will. 2. Ability
to know and keep in mind the varl-
Gus items of his property. g. Ability
to know and keep in mind the men,
bers of the family and others entitled
to the makers bounty. In general,
any person of full age possessing the
mental capacity described above and
not subject to some special legal dis
ability, may make d valid and bind
ing will In the majority OF the
states the full age of twenty-one
years is required of both sexes be-
fore the power to make a will is
granted
Married women were formerly de-
MED the right to will their prop
erty, but modern statutes quite gem
orally give them that privilege. OF
course, an insane person, Lacking the
required mental qualifications, can
not make will, nor can infants un-
der age, in most states.
The first great requisite of will
is that it shall be in writing. This
does not mean that it need be writ
ten in long-hand, though that is the
most desirable of all ways when the
maker is preparing his own will.
Typewriter wills and printed wills,
with the blanks filled in, are COM
mon, and Wills have been held valid
when prepared in many unusual ways
on strange substitutes for ppaer or
parchment, The prudent attorney, in
preparing will, always sees to it
that the entire instrument is fas-
tened together Thus if the will con-
sists of several typewriter or print
\ ed sheets the last of which alone
is signed, another typewriter page
might be substituted for an unsigned
one and the whole character of the
instrument altered. So, if the entire
will cannot be written on single
sheet of paper, the various pages
should be so attached that they can
not be separated without detection
The pages are usually stapled OF
pasted together at the top and core
is run through them, tied and sealed
1t is wise for the maker of the will
the testator as he is called, to initia
each page in such cases.
Further, the will must be signed
by the maker and witnessed in tht
manner required by the statutes o
the state in which it is made. Neva
!; da is the only state which requires
seal. The usual and proper meth
cd of signing is for the maker t.
, Sc i,, full OF ho hnftan