CURIOSITIES OF WILL-MAKING.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 1505, 3 February 1916, Page 4

CURIOSITIES OF WILL-MAKING.

ROMANCE AND MUDDLE.

Few subjects that come before the Law Courts provide more interesting reading than those relating to wills. Everybody who has anything to leave to relatives or friends must make a will, or at least ought to do so. In Scotland, as in France, the law as to wills is based mainly on the Roman law, and differs in some respects from the law of England. Any man who is of sound mind is entitled to make his own will in any form he pleases, so long as be shows clearly what he means. It is ambiguity, the possibility of reading different meanings into the testator’s words that sets hungry legatees by the ears and gives opportunity for clever lawyers. Probably more wills have been made in Europe during the past fifteen months than in any similar period, and probably also a large number of these wills have come into operation. The men who made them lie on the battlefield where they fell. SHORT WILLS. It does not follow that a short will may not be clear and distinct. Only, if a layman makes his own will he had better leave out all legal phraseology, taking as a model the will proved and upheld at Lewes in 1873, which contains only eight words, viz : —“Mrs to have all when I die.” The late Lord Inverclyde, whose will was holograph, written on an ordinary sheet of notepaper, said: “I leave everything I possess of every description to my wife, the Rt. Hon. Mary, Baroness Inverclyde, and I appoint her my executrix. (Signed) Inverclyde.” Lord Mansfield disposed of all his worldly goods on half a sheet of notepaper, and Sir James Stephen’s will consisted of thirteen words. A dozen lines served to dispose of the late Lord Russell of Killowen’s estate of nearly £150,000, and the will of a London man proved some years ago was simply, “All for mother.— C.T.” An old lady of Hempstead, U.S.A., disposed of her £90,000 estate in a fifty-word will, written on an old piece of wrapping paper; and the will of Sir Hugh Percy Lane, a well-known art connoisseur (who went down in the Lusitania), disposing of estate valued at £50,000, was written on a sixpenny form. A man at Long Sutton, Lincolnshire, before committing suicide, wrote his will in chalk on a manger.

WRITTEN IN BLOOD.

During the recent fighting between the Austrians and the Italians, a brave Italian, while making a reconnaissance, was laid low by a hail of bullets and could not be rescued. It was found later that the man, while bleeding to death, had removed his coat, spread it on a rock, and had applied his ebbing strength to writing with a stick, dipped in his own blood, a short will leaving all he possessed to bis two young orphan nieces. The tunic on which the will was. written has been sent to a notary, and the will will be carried out. No question of want of the formality will hinder the Court from giving effect to a will, so that the testator can be proved to be of sound mind and that the meaning is clear. An Irish doctor’s will was contested. While driving he had a narrow escape, and at once he tore open an envelope, wrote thereon, “I give and bequeath to my wife all my possessions,” and got his assistant and coachman to witness the will The judge upheld the will and granted probate. AN IMPORTANT SHUFFLE.

Probably one ot the strangest cases of will-making was that ot an old lady stricken dumb. Her lawyer wrote on cards the names of relatives, friends, and servants, and on apother set ot cards the items of her property. Then the

old lady herself shuffled the cards to her own liking, and as so arranged, the cards were “ proved.” But if some of the wills mentioned have been models of brevity, others are long-winded documents, as that of a Duke of Devonshire which extended to nearly 18,000 words. LAWYERS’ MUDDLING. It does not follow that a lawyermade will should necessarily be a model of lucidity. On the contary, many lawyers’ wills have led to expensive litigation. Lord Westbury’s will, which he wrote out himself, had to be interpreted by the Courts, and the wills of two men who served as Lord Chancellor—Lord Brougham and Lord Lvndhurst—also gave difficulty. Lord St. Leonards, who commented caustically on the trouble caused by men who made their own wills, left a will —missing at his death —which caused prolonged litigation. Lord Grimthorpe, who left about two million sterling, made a will, or rather a series of them consisting of 135 testamentary documents. Three of his fourteen codicils were written respectively on the back of an old letter, a dinner invitation, and a circular. After a good deal of trouble probate was granted of Lord Grimthorpe’s will and twenty-five codicils. LOST WILL ROMANCES. We have all read romantic stories about lost wills. Some of these have been recovered and proved in Court alter many years. For instance, not so very long ago a Scottish will was found after having been concealed for nearly twenty years in an old scrap-book, and was held by the Court to be perfectly good. Other hiding places where missing wills have been found are, inside the lining of an old hat, in a clock, in a blotting pad, behind a picture, in the iamily Bible, in concealed receptacles in bookcases or writing desk or table, in a sofa, or even in a rubbish heap. A strange history attached to a will which was proved in London recently. It was that of Mr Lang Macfarlane, a director of a wellknown firm of biscuit manufacturers of Glasgow and Fulham. He was drowned while being taken off the sinking P. and O. liner Oceana, off Beachy Head, and his will went down with the ship. It was not recovered for three months, but was then admitted to probate. In addition to considerable real estate, the will disposed of nearly £300,000 personal estate.

A GRATEFUL JEW. A Cambridge Hospital has received nearly £5,000 the property of a Jew pedlar, who was kindly treated in the hospital when a poor man. He died leaving over £12,000, and showed his gratitude by the legacy. Many wealthy old ladies leave cranky wills and pensions for pets, but unless the testatrices can be shown to be insane the courts give effect to such bequests. For instance, a Dublin Court upheld a lady’s bequest of £4,000 for stray and homeless cats ; and a London lady left £1 a week to provide for her dog and cockatoo. In the United States the principle has been upheld that a typewritten will is good in law, and this principle has been affirmed by the Austrian Courts, though one can see that there are undesirable possibilities in such a rule. GETTING THEIR OWN BACK. It is by no means uncommon for the testator to try and pay off old scores in a will, and even to play off rather a bitter joke on expectant heirs. For instance, husbands have been known to try to have a last hit at the wife of their bosom when they knew she could not have the last word. An American, who died some time ago leaving £60,000, and a pretty wife, left the widow his whole fortune, with the stipulation that she must not appear in public unveiled. If she did so, she must forfeit £2OO, and a similar sum if she smiled at a man, or allowed a man to take her to a place of public entertainment. Was ever regulation more likely to tempt Eve to desire forbidden fruit ? Another testator is reported to have left his wife one farthing, to be sent to her by post in an unstamped envelope. The husband laid bare his grievances at some length in his will, and said his wife had called him an old pig and other opprobrious epithets. One would like to hear the lady’s side of the quarrel before judging her too harshly.