The sun., 1916-11-09

row would be his last day upon earth
there would be a mighty scurrying Of
feet to the offices Of the men who
make 1t n business to draw Wills. The
wise persons would go to the best law
yers; the foolish to the notaries. JUS
tees and commissioners of deeds. who
frequently make a miserable botch Of
the matter. And their mistakes can
never be corrected. for the very un-
fortunate reason that death has pre-
vented a change. As We well know, a
Will Is about the only instrument where
the mistakes made are concealed until
after the death OF the person making
Il. Then they come forth to ven and
annoy.
I assume that none who read what
is here written would in a sane mo-
ment or even during a lucid interval
proceed 10 the village blacksmith to
have his watch repaired. The very
suggestion is ludicrous. you will say.
still you may have acted much less
wisely with regard to the preparation
OF your will. You may have had 1t
Drawn by n person who did not know
how. and still you may be e~xcusable.
He may have led you into the belief
that he knew how. Perchance YOU
may have been even more unwise
still. Fearing to trust so important a
task as the making OF your last will
and testament to any other person,
you may have prepared ii yourself.
This course always suggests the an
cient toast: Here's to the lawyers
hHgt frtArI ,f- -- II
own will"
The laws Of your State are such. in
no matter what Commonwealth you
may reside, that 1t Is seldom true that
a person can prepare his or her own
will and meet the requirements OF the
statute, simple as they may appear.
There Is almost certain TO be a fatal
error or omission.
A word may be said in passing with
respect to the Justice. commissioner or
notary made will. These men usually
charge the same fee as n lawyer. The
saving in money. even II the product
we're the same. is never a reality. /
have known dozens OF wills OF this
type to prove utterly worthless.
| am not here discussing such cases as
call for construction of wills in courts
OF equity: where the language Is
vague in meaning. or where some con
tingency. such as a death or a birth.
has arisen which calls for a going into
court to have the meaning of the in
strument applied to a state Of facts
which were never in the mind Of the
testator. Even the most carefully
drawn wills and those prepared under
the most painstaking circumstances
will frequently get before the courts
upon some vexatious question of
doubtful meaning. The great mind Of
Sir Edward Coke I552-163D had in IL
the difficulties which spring from the
general subject when he declared
Wills and the construction Of them
do more perpleX n man than any other
learning" And Il may he added that
the years which have interviewed since
this wise statement was uttered have
not made less difficult the question.
which daily arise from the subject.
Much Of the continuing stream Of
litigation concerning wills is unavoid-
able. but the greater part seems to he
unnecessary While unskilful and non
professional testamentary writing Is
responsible FOR a large par; Of the
unnecessary litigation. il is also true
that the statutes o. various states on
trusts. powers. pcrpetuities and kim
dred subjects contribute largely to the
difficulties.
With the wealth Of a community in
creasing and with the demands of
society becoming more complex. the
Importance Of better testamentary
writing becomes II Very general In
crest. To-day the best legal talent in
the community is becoming alert 10
he needs Of the people in his direc-
lion. and what was "A good will TWEEN
ty-nvc years ago may not be such
to-day. Changes Of laws have in many
instances been Of such n character as
TO change these things.
II is certainly true that the average
will is poorly prepared. This is tru,
~ 30 per cent. OF the wills whore The
person has drawn his wi testament
where it has been prepared by a friend
notary or commissioner. And sad I,
relate, the Will prepared by the aver
age lawyer is not we'll prepared MOI
is II generally "A complete document
| find 1t true that the average lawyer
is not so conversant a. he should bs
with the tatu,cs Of his " Stat,
nor with the broad general subject OF
tho administration of estates, nor We
with the more important decisions
hearing upon the matter. Now an,
then ] have met attorneys who wer'
SO grossly ignorant upon the subjec
that they were not aware OF the exist
ence OF any state law" upon the sub
ject. What could be the result o.
such great ignorance when a tesla
ment Of his preparation was put to tn,
test
Let me in this relation point out g
positive evil which has grown III
among us. refer 10 the printe,
blank. This innocent appearing
partly prepared paper Ia as poten
with evil as a rattlesnake bite. and /
responsible for n soodly percentage o