Evening star., 1925-10-25
BH L, A. FLEMING.

DI n.
Trust officers-and Washington trust
companies have some exceedingly fine
officers bearing this title-will tell you
that homemade wills are fraught with
and purpose of testator may be
entirely ignored, voided and rendered
as If never written by some error OF
commission or omission, apparently
unimportant in itself, but which law
yers will uses as an excuse for long
litigation.
Especially dangerous Is a homemade
will with many contingencies" and
in the event Of" the double meaning
of words, and the divers interpreta
tions that may be put upon them max.
ing many tangle-
The crossword puzzle craze more
than anything else has shown to the
average layman just how many mean
ing word may have. Heirs at law are
just as liable to go to law over a
twist that may make a sentence read
more favorably for this one or that
one, necessitating the use of the plain
est Of language and the precision of a
legal mind, trained to understand the
custom of the bench in interpreta
tions of certain terms and under all
circumstances, so that the pitfalls
may be avoided and the wills of tes-
tators be carried into effect, provided
they are not In direct contravention TO
law and the legal rights of heirs.
1t is not a matter of news but of
fact that there are As States in this
Union, and it is a disconcerting propo-
sition to the home will maker to
know that each of these States las diff.
ferent provisions in its code as to
wills and their integrity.
An Ancient Motto Still Good.
Every man to his own trade" is
one of the oldest of sayings and yet
one of the wisest.
1t requires the services of a good
lawyer to draw a will that viii IN
sure the distribution of an estate as
the testator may direct. A thousand
and one slight inaccuracies may viii,
ate 1t. The saving of few dollars
through the homedrawn document
may result in the expenditure of hun
dreds, even thousands and irreparable
loss to some Of those whom man
or woman might desire to help ma
terially and at once.
If you have it in mind to draw your
own will. stop, look and listen and
you may change your mind.
Even a lawyer should not and usual
" will not take the responsibility for
this important action, just as a doctor
naturally hesitates to prescribe In
desperate case for any of his own
family or q surgeon Will hesitate TO
operate on close relative.
A Percentage Case.
William Andrews" a name that
will do as well as any other, made
his own will He left a certain per
centage of his estate to a son and an
equal amount to Il daughter ana a
small percentage to an institution OF
learning. and then disposed or the
residue of my estate" for the beneft
Of the same college.
Unfortunately, the daughter died
shortly before the father, and the
latter did not take the trouble TO de-
stroy the old will and prepare a new
document The courts are now
lhrashing out the questions involved,
arising from a claim of the son for
the sisters share, with an alternative
claim of 40 per cent of IL. in the event
Of being denied the entire amount
and with the college fnsistent on re
eeiving all but 40 per cent of the
estate as residue" OF the same, TO
per cent in all.
This teaches the necessity OF
prompt action in cancellation by a
new will. tearing across the document
or in some other way, immediately
following the demise of one of the
beneiciaries, or of making prepara-
ton for Just such contingency
when drawing the document.
Couldn't stand for Son-in-L4aw.
John Henry" could not stand for
his daughter's husband, Katy S
man" being a perpetual thorn in his
side.
When he decided to prepare his
will he made 1t short and sweet. He
left so much TO Mary, 80 much to
Jane, something to q grandchiid, and
then ended as follows: Il specifically
and solemnly declare that 1t is my
wish that not one cent or other val
liable asset of my estate shall go di-
rectly or indirectly to my daughter
Katy or to her husband, Harry Jones,
or to any one by the name OF Jones.
Evidently he was after Jones and
Katy, but the total OF his bequests
was short of his total estate and the
disinherited ones made a successful
contention for an interest in this un
villed fraction-the courts upholdtng
their claim. This is one of the cases
where an Interpretation of g. will
made the testator turn over in his
grave.
Perpetuity Undecided.
She was one of the ablest of the
many bright women in the National
Capital-a woman of the world, from
the business point Of view, well
versed in customs and practices and
knew exactly how she wished her
estate of millions distributed with
reasonable dispatch and unnecessary
expense.
She was wise in her day and COW
cred every point carefully-every
point but one, and that one brought
uneasiness to the heirs. The estate
was to be held in trust until the
youngest child of niece should be
of age" the testator having In mind
a young lady not far from the legal
age.
In doing this she evidently forgot
or did not know that all the courts
in Christendom have so far failed to
rule on the age at which a woman
may no longer be considered a pos
sible mother. for the records show
mothers of seemingly improbable
ages.
Long time, expensive delays would
have resulted unless the heirs had
compromised the matter out of court
In law an estate may be main
tanned intact in trust until the age
Of any beneficiary specified and 2l
years thereafter, but it is against