STRANGE WAR – TIME WILLS

Hokitika Guardian, 25 July 1931, Page 3

STRANGE WAR - TIME WILLS

UNSIGNED NOTES

GRANTING OF PROBATE

Many and varied were the wills made by soldiers on active service during the war. In ordinary ,tinus, those documents, some- of them the very antithesis of what a will -should be, would not have .-the remotest chance of being admitted to probate, but the laws pertaining to wd)s made provisions lor soldiers and sailors on active service. One of these unusual wills was accepted by the Supreme Court in Wellington on Monday. It was merely a letter, -saying that a soldier's fatli.r would fix his affairs and asking the father to divide his property equally among a family of four. Discussing the position yesterday, a Christchurch barrister who had much legal experience while on actjve service, said fhat every New Zealand soldier was ordered to make- hi-s will on a form provided in his pay-book. However, this will could be altered at any time, for it was the last document preceding death that counted for anything. -11 l the Wellington case-, the letter was probably written after the will was made in the pay-book. The law provided that a soldier or sailor on active service could make a will without the necessity of having it witnessed, added • the lawyer. There had been cases of men who had made their wills on identification discs ; in another case the will had been carved on a piece of wood. One will that had beeai recognised in England consisted of notes, written in pencil in a rough book, and unsigned. Th's was made by a sailor, but was admitted on evidence of handwriting. “ALL TO LIZZIE.” Many of those who were ordered to make their wills in Trenthain did not take the order -seriously. They knew that they had to comply with the in strnction, but entries such as: “All t< Lizzie” and “Spend it on beer” were common. In a number of these rases, :t was not until the men were actually on j active service that they realised the i necessity of making a will. Their wills i •then took the form of letters in a mmi- | her of cases and these were admitted j to' probate, irrespective ol the tact that they had not been .witnessed. Otheis of course, went to the trouble of having proper wills prepared while in England. '

Immediately after the war, some famous will cases were heard in lingland, especially in instances where large sums of money were invol ed. One limrli h soldier, who was worth half a tn'llion in money when ,he died, left a brief note of thirteen words. Tlvs was accepted by the courts, although A had no be n witnessed and d : d not comply with the ordinary rules pertaining to u ills.