Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-12-29
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ative to estates of decedents, another
is the state code of fish laws and
the other is the code regulating
keeping of dogs in the smaller cities,
horoughs and townships. Some min
or laws also become operative Janu-
ary l. when the fish and dog codes
go into force. The acts of the dece-
dents estate code becoming effective
are known as the wills" act and the
1ntestate" act. They will be law
december 81 and are companions to
the orphans court partition" "or-
phans' court" revised price," reg
ister of Wills and "fiduciaries" acts,
Whlch went into effect Immediately
upon approval last summer. They
| are the codes drafted by the COM
mission composed of Judges ]. M.
Gest and T. ]. Baldridge and Ex-
Speaker George r. Alter. Each of
these seven acts contains a special
cause repeating other acts, the par
tltion' act repeating So; orphans
court act So; revised price" act
| IL; wills" act 26; register of wills"
act 10; ''intestate" act 2S. and "ffdu
ciaries" act 1853. The code is the
ilrst systematic arrangement of the
Jaws relative to estates since the
thirties.
The wills" act makes a number of
important changes, among the more
important being making uniform
the rights of a surviving husband
and wife to take against the will of
the decedent. The period before
death when a will making a char
liable or religious bequest may be
executed is changed to thirty days.
1t has been a calendar month. In
spendthrift trusts the income of
what is known as n "cestui que"
trust is made liable for support of a
wife and minor children. In addi-
ton to this law, which affects every
one, it is in the "intestate" act that
the most important changes are
made. 1t provides the method. of
vesting real and personal property
of decedents who leave no wills. A
man highly versed in such matters
said of the changes to-day:
The first to be noted is that the
same scheme of inheritance is pro-
vided for both real and personal
property, thus ignoring the distinc-
tion that existed by which the in
terests of the surviving husband and
wife were limited in some cases to
life estates, while their interests in
the personal property was absolute.
This change abolishes what is known
as dover and courtesy. The next i'm
portant change that may nn noted il
that the reciprocal rights of husband
and wife in each others intestate es-
tate are made the same. The act
also provides that the estate which
the surviving husband or wife is
entitled to may be taken as against
the will, except the special allow
ance of $4,000. The special allow
ance of $1,000 heretofore given to
the wife where there was no issue
and which the husband was entitled
to, when electing against a will, is
now given to both surviving husband
and wife in cases of actual intestacy
where there is no issue. The dis
tinction in the inheritance of real
estate between the whole and half
blood is also abolished. The right
of inheritance in cases of illegiti-
macy is extended to the maternal
grandfather and illegitimate children
are legitimatiZed by the marriage of
their parents without the present re-
quirement of cohabitation; and,
lastly, it is provided that no mur-
derer shall inherit from the person
whom he has killed"
Announcement of the appointment
of district deputy grandmasters of
the Masons of Pennsylvania yester-
day by Grand Master James b.
Krause, of Williamsport, who sue
ceeded Col. L. A. Watres, this week,
calls to mind some matters of in
terest to Harrisburgers. This city
has had two Grand Masters in the
late Robert A. Lamberton and w. l..
CO fny
as district deputy, to which place
William S. Snyder has been reap
pointed. Frederic A. Godcharles,
Deputy Secretary of the Common
wealth, will complete an even dozen
years as district deputy under his
reappointment. Williamsport, more
over, becomes the center of Pennsyl-
vania Masonry, as it is not only
the home of the Grand Master, but
of Col. Fl. r. Laird, the Grand Com
mander of the Templars, an office
held some years ago by William. NJ.
Donaldson, of this city. DIETRICH
Lamade, the Williamsport publisher,
we'll known here, is the new Grand
Pursuivant.
Mahlon II. Shaaber, the former
Republican legislator from Reading,
who died a few days ago, was the
talleSt man IN Ine Legislature, as ne
topped Ex-Speaker George E. Alter,
with whom he served, by an inch.
One day Mr.. Shaaber and the Speak
er walked out of the House together.
The crowd gazed. The Reading man
used to head the parades around the
hall of the House, carrying the
American flag, and he recited Lin
coins address at Gettysburg upon
of occasions.
Two missionaries from the interior
of China visited the Capitol one day
this week. They thoroughly enjoyed
the visit, as they were Pennsylva-
mans, and when they left insisted
on giving the guide gratuity. The
guide did not want to take 1t. He
did finally. What he drew was
Chinese dollar with a fine profile of
Yuan Shi Kai, worth about thirty
eight cents, net.
These are busy days for James N.
Moore. the chief of the states Leg
islative Reference Bureau, because
everyone is asking for information
on new laws. Mr.. Moore sits in the
House, of which he is former mem
Der, during the making and when it
comes down to the reviews he has
the facts all arranged in the back
of his head.