The Washington herald., 1921-07-17

will be executed in the District of
Columbia with but two witnesses.
and the testator owns real estate
in another country, the laws Of
which require three witnesses, the
title to the real estate would not
pass under the terms of the testa-
tors will. In other words, the valid
! ity of a will disposing of real es-
tate Is governed by the laws of the
country in which the real estate is
/ located. On the other hand. per-
sonal property us governed by the
law of the State in which the de-
cedent's domicil is located, and 1t
makes no difference where the prop
erty may be, 1t is distributed in ac-
cordance with the decedent's will.
WIHAT is the extent of the testa-
w tors liabilities? II the liabili-
ties are extensive. and the testator
Is liable as endorser upon CONNER
cal obligations, II is we'll to defer
the payment of the legacies until
these obligations are settled.
1t is a we'll known fact that rich
es have wings. and II the testator
is apprehensive that his property
may depreciate, he should UNDER
SLdHo IhC udhSCAOuS pooANAo" VI NhN
residuary legatee, who is generally
the person that Is intended to re-
ceive, when a will Is made, the
largest portion of the estate. The
estate should be divided into shares.
so that each legatee will receive
his proportional part of the estate.
/ lowing will:
~ n
strument to be my last will and
/ testament
Item l. give to my brother
Timothy Jones. the sem Of thirty
| thousand dollars (s30.000.0o).
"All the rest, residue and re-
/ mainder of my property, both real,
personal and mixed. give. devise
/ and bequeath to my dearly beloved
wife, Mary Jones, absolutely and in
fee simple.
ct hereby nominate. constitute
and appoint my said wife, Mary
Jones. as the executrix of this, my
last will and testament.
TN testimony whereof. I have
hereunto signed my name and af-
fixed my seal, at Washington, d.
| c., this I'd day of June. A. D.. 1920.
| JOHN JONES. (Seal)
signed. sealed. published, and de-
clared by John Jones. as and for his
last will and testament in our pres
ence, and we. at his request, In his
presence, and in the presence Of each
other have hereunto signed our
names as attesting witnesses.
| "HENRY SMITH.
JOHN DOE"
| At the time of making this will
John Jones was worth s100,000.o0
Al the time Of his death he was
| worth but 100000. His property
! would be distributed in accordance
| with the terms of his will-one-ralf
| to his widow and one-half to his
brother. Suppose he had divided
| his property into thirds. one-third
to his brother. and two-thirds to his
| wife: then the brother would have
received $4,000. and his widow
$4,000.
TESTATORS seldom realize that
i there are several kinds of lega-
| cies, or understand the laws which
| govern their payment. A specinc
legacy or devise is a gift of a par
| ticular, specified and determined
piece of property. Suppose that John
| Smith gave his brother. Timothy
one $4,000 Victory loan bond num-
bered 1,146.7S2. 1t is evident that
there Is only one bond in the world
which will answer the above de-
scription, and II the bond is no,
found among the effects of the de-
cedent, Timothy will not receive
from the estate of the decedent $10,-
0Vs in lieu of the bond, because the
law states that the legacy has been
| adeemed by the testator. Heart
breaking cases of this kind are OF
daily occurrence. and. owing to the
testator's ignorance OF the law, leg
acies often go to others than those
! designated by the testator.
In drafting a will, great care
should be exercised in the use oi
words. because some very peculiar
mistakes have occurred A tesla
tor in his will left a large sum In
trust and appointed trustees to hold
the fund and pay the income over
to a worthless nephew. providing
however, that II the nephew became
addicted to gambling and { linking
| then the trust was to cease. and the
| property delivered to another per-
son. The nephew called upon a law
| yer and requested him to state
whether the provision about gam
bling and drinking was legal. The
| attorney replied that there was no
doubt about the legality of the be-
quest, but he added, You will OBJ
serve, my dear boy, that the tes-
| tator uses the conjunctive in con-
Meeting the two words gambling
and drinking Thus, the law gives
| you the privilege of either drinking
yourself to death or gambling to
your hearts content Select either
| of the two evils, and the law will
not take the income away from you.
Had your respected uncle used the
distinctive or he would have de-
prived you of the pleasure of en-
bracing either Of the vices"
There have been tragedies and
poems written around wills, and one
of the best illustrating the dangers
Of writing your own will is the fol-
lowing:
"Ye lawyers who live upon litigant's
fees,
And who need a good many to live
at your ease.
Be ye wise or witty. grave or gay,
Plain stun or States counsel, take
counsel of me.
When festive occasion your spirit
unbends,
You should never forget the pro-
fession's best friend.
So we will send round the wine,
and a light bumper fill,
To the jolly testator who writes his
own will.
Testators are good but a feeling
more tender.
Springs up in my heart when I