Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1918-06-15
FACTS ABOUT WILLS
Every Soldier May Act as His Own !
Lawyer in the Disposal of His
Property. 4;


for the benefit of soldiers who may
wish to take advantage Of it:
The following is simple form. OF
will, which, if it be executed accord
ing to the following directions, will
answer for any state in the Union:
|, John Doe, of 100 W. Tooth ST.,
N. Y. City, make my last will, and
give all my estate, real and personal
wherever situate, to my wife, Jane
Doe, her heirs, executors, admlnlstra-
tors and assigns forever, and appoint
her sole. executrix Of this will, with
out bonds, with full power to sell,
mortgage, lease, or in any other man
ner DISPOSE of the whole or any part
OF my estate.
Dated May /, 1913.
John Doe (SeaD.
Subscribed, sealed, published and
declared by John Doe, teestator named
in the foregoing will, as and for his
last will and testament, in our pres
ence, who at his request, in his pres
ence. in the presence of each other, at
the same time have hereunto sub
scribed our names as witnesses this
May 1, 1918.
Richard Roe,
1902 West Tooth ST., N. Y. City.
Thomas Noakes,
1O4 West Tooth ST., N. Y. City.
Stephen Stiles,
1O4 West Tooth St., N. Y. City.
Write out this complete instrument
on a sheet of paper-even writing the
word "Seal." But do not sign it. The
first paragraph above to be signed
by YOU is your will. The second para
graph above, to be signed by witness
ses. is called the attestation clause.
Having prepared your will, call IN
three adults who are not interested
in the provisions contained in your
will; legatee or devise cannot sign
as witness. Get these three witnesses
in the same room with you, and let
them all stay in that room until all
four of you have signed. Then, in
their presence, you sign the will
that is the first thing you do after
calling them in. Having signed, tell
them this is your will, and that you
want them to sign as witnesses. That
is vital. They do not have to read
the will. They will then sign, with
their addresses, all remaining with
YOU until all have signed. If you
read over the attestation clause above,
Won wiI-now-see. that~the formalities'
stated therein have been completed.
Select, if possible, witnesses who live
in the same town as you yourself.
Have your wife keep the will safe. In
case of your death, she may or may
not have to employ a lawyer in order
to get it probated. In some states
probate is very simple. In New Jer-
sey, for instance, the executor waits
for the lapse of ten full days after
death, and on or AFTER the eleventh
day, he or she takes one witness up
to the Surrogate's Office, and the Sur
rogate does the rest. If you leave
bank account or safe deposit Eov be-
hind you, there will be red tape, ow-
ing to the inheritance tax forms that
must be filled out and sworn to, no
matter whether your estate is taxable
or not.
Remember this. BY following the
above directions you can execute that
simple form of will without calling
in a lawyer If the object Of your
bounty be mother, sister, brother,
father, sweetheart or any other per-
son, you may substitute his or her
name for the name Jane Doe, your
wife. But it will not be safe for you
to attempt to draw more compllcat-
ed will without consulting a lawyer.
You ought to leave will. The small
Ter your estate, the more necessary Is
a will. II you do not leave will, your
administrator will have to give bonds,
and if the interests of infants are in
volved and there be real estate, it may
cost your small estate $3.50 before
your wife can sell the property and
get the money. If you leave a will,
the legal expenses will be very small.
It is more important for poor man to
leave will than for a rich man to
leave one, because Of the complied
ton and expense otherwise entailed
upon the poor mans estate. Remem-
Der always in making your will or
taking any other legal step, in case o.
doubt. always consult lawyer. In
this war crisis, the great majority
of lawyers are only to glad to assist
a soldier in these simple matters with
out charging any fee.