To defer making a will from a vague superstition that death will come the sooner, is gross folly, and should be reprobated by every person in the enjoyment of his mental faculties.

An expression very commonly made after the execution of a will is this, "Well, I have made my will, and I shall not die one minute the sooner." This positive assertion clearly indicates that a negative supposition largely prevails. We, however, earnestly entreat all persons to disabuse their minds of such childish apprehensions, and make their testamentary dispositions while they have the strength of mind and body to comprehend accurately what their intentions are, and dispose of their property after their own method, instead of compelling the law to do it for them after its arbitrary fashion.

Hear what a quaint but vigorous writer says on the subject of making wills. We cannot give his name, because he writes anonymously; but as he adopts a somewhat antiquated nomen and cognomen, we assume him to have been (if dead) a man of much worldly experience and observation. These are some of his remarks :

"If you have a wife and children, and relations and friends, I suppose that you bear them some affection; and if so, surely you had rather they should dwell in peace than in discord, and that, if they should outlive you, they should love rather than hate your memory. By making a will you will prove that their welfare is an object of your desire; by neglecting to do so, you will show that their happiness is with you an object of very little consideration.

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'Many, very many, tremble at the very thought of making a will. Some time ago, a worthy woman was bereaved of her husband; he was taken suddenly away, as many are. The widow was anxious that what property she had should be enjoyed after her decease by two nieces, to whom she was much attached; but this was not likely to happen unless she made her will, and to this she had a strong objection. It was in vain that her professional adviser urged her to bequeath her property, and pointed out that, if she neglected to do so, it would go to one who was unworthy to enjoy it; still she could not bear the thought of making a will.

"While in the office of her professional friend she trembled from head to foot with apprehension, and when the will was sent home to her, terror again prevented her from signing it. Superstitious fears bind many in iron chains; the widow thought signing her will was like signing her death-warrant; and even

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Mischief of Will-Forms.

though her life was soon after placed in jeopardy by a sudden fire, which burst out where she lived, her last will and testament was unattended to; neither her danger nor her merciful preservation induced her to sign her will.

"You will not die sooner for having made your will, though the distraction arising in a season of sickness from not having made it may fever your mind and your body, and hurry you off to your grave.

"Now, you may bear my inquiry, but if it shall only be whispered by your doctor into your dying ear, it may fall like a thunder-clap on your aching head at a season when you would give the world to do what you may be incapable to perform.

"Think for a moment on his situation who, having for years added house to house and field to field, and laid up large stores for earthly enjoyment, without a thought of dissolution, is suddenly called upon hurriedly to divide his possessions! Not an hour can he purchase at any price. The fever is upon him, his bloodshot eye looks fearful, he draws his breath with difficulty, his pulse is at a hundred and twenty; he cries out for water, and turns to his physician for comfort; but, as he strains his aching eyeballs in an attempt to catch a word of consolation, he meets the inquiry, Have you made your will!' The very words are as the icy wind of death; they chill and curdle the life current of his heart-they pronounce his doom. Oh! had he made his will, it would have been some consolation; it might have prevented his present paroxysm; but no he neglected it, and now it is too late."

CHAPTER II.

HOW TO MAKE A WILL, AND THE FORMALITIES NECESSARY TO BE OBSERVED TO RENDER IT VALID; WITH REMARKS ON CHARITABLE BEQUESTS, AND HOW THEY ARE AFFECTED BY THE STATUTES OF MORTMAIN; ALSO, HOW A WILL MAY BE REVOKED.

THERE is no very great art required in making an ordinary will, provided the instructions we shall give be closely adhered to. In the first place, we would say, by no means use what are called "Will forms;" we mean those lithographed and printed forms which are sometimes sold by stationers. We speak advisedly when we say, that the ulterior acts and costs

Ulterior Cost of Informal Wills.

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necessary to establish a will made in such a way exceeds several times the expense of one prepared by a solicitor. This arises from the fact that such documents generally contain a number of paragraphs of an alternative character, so that if one does not apply, it is supposed that another will. By the time such parts are erased as are irrelevant, and such matter inserted as may be considered requisite to give effect to the testator's intentions, the document usually presents one mass of confusion.

The reader will easily comprehend why it becomes so expensive an affair to obtain probate of such an instrument, when in a subsequent chapter he is made acquainted with the effect of interlineations, erasures, and alterations.

If a person decide to make his own will, let him in the first place definitely make up his mind as to the way in which he intends to dispose of his property; then sit down and write, in language as clear and unmistakable as he can command, his testamentary wishes-bearing in recollection that it is not at all necessary to use technical, or what may be termed legal language.

With regard to the commencement, a will generally runs thus: "This is the last Will and Testament of me, John Brown, of the city of Bath, grocer. First, I direct all my just debts, funeral and testamentary expenses, to be paid by my executor hereinafter appointed." Now, it is by no means essential that a will should begin with," This is the last Will and Testament;" but we should recommend it to be so commenced, because it is an orthodox method, and shows at the very outset that it is a will; and, as a further reason, we would advise that form because the parchment skins upon which the probate copies are written after death are usually purchased with the first seven words upon them in large text letters, generally made to extend across the skin. The testator may, however, if he prefer, start in the following, or any similar manner :-"I, John Brown, of the city of Bath, grocer, do make this my will in manner following, namely:-I give unto my son Thomas Brown, my gold watch, with the chain and appendages, and also the sum of one hundred pounds sterling: I give unto my son Henry Brown," &c., &c.

It is usual to direct the executor to pay, in the first place, all just debts, funeral and testamentary expenses. This is usually mere verbiage, and may as a rule be safely omitted, as the law compels the executor to discharge those obligations if he have sufficient assets, but if not enough to pay all in full,

then the deceased's liabilities must be liquidated according to the order of priority indicated in a subsequent chapter.

There is, perhaps, just one case in which a direction to pay debts may be of service, and that is when a testator appoints a creditor executor,—an injudicious thing to do. Such direction to pay debts would, perhaps, remove any doubt as to whether a legacy given to the creditor was intended to be in satisfaction of his debt. After the testator has disposed of all the legacies he intends to bequeath, let him then give the residue to some person or persons, otherwise it would be undisposed of, and pass to his next of kin. Then appoint an executor or executors ; then will follow the date; and lastly, the attestation clause. The latter is very material, and, therefore, particular notice must be taken of the following instructions.

The attestation clause is usually written at the end of the will, on the left-hand side of the paper. No particular set of words is essential, but it must be stated that the will was signed by the testator in the presence of the witnesses, and that they signed in the presence of the testator and of each other, all being present at the same time. The testator may sign his name directly at the end of the will, or rather we should say, he must sign his name at the foot or end thereof, and the attestation clause may be written immediately beneath the signature, and then the witnesses' names will follow, of whom there must be two at the least. Such clause is usually in this form : "Signed by the testator as his will in the presence of us, who, in his presence, at his request, and in the presence of each other, all present at the same time, have hereunto set our names as witnesses."

It is not necessary that a witness should know the contents of a will, or read any part of it; but the testator would do well to repeat some such words as these after he has written his name, “I declare this to be my will, and desire you to be witnesses hereto." And we always deem it graceful on the part of the testator, and desirable on behalf of the witnesses, that the attestation clause should be read so as to satisfy them that what they are about to place their signatures to is a will, and nothing else.

Directly the testator has signed, let the two witnesses also write their names, addresses, and occupations, but until this be done they must not leave the presence of the testator nor of each other; and in the event of a servant being a witness, she must not even depart from the room to answer the door, or the other witness might perchance sign in her absence. For

Alterations and Erasures.

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if this were done, and the other witness were to return directly and sign, the will would be of no avail, because it had not been executed in accordance with the Act of Parliament, which requires them all to sign in the presence of each other. It may not always be practicable or convenient for all to sign in the same part of the room. The testator may be in bed, and some difficulty may be experienced in obtaining his signature; but when this is the case, let the witnesses be most particular to attest the will where the testator may be able to see them. Thus, if there be a curtain along the lower part of the bed, or any other impediment, and the table and writing materials be below it, the curtain should be withdrawn or the obstacle removed, otherwise the table should be brought to the side of the bed, where the testator may see the witnesses sign.

We have rather minutely described the mode and requisites of the execution; but on a point of such vital importance— involving, as it does, the validity of the will-we prefer prolixity to ambiguity. And if there be any alterations or erasures in the will, the witnesses should place their initials opposite each, which will enable them, after the death of the testator, to make affidavit, if necessary, that such existed at the time the will was executed; but preferable to this is the professional mode of what is called noting the alterations in the attestation clause, after this manner: "The interlineation of the words and fifty pounds,' between the third and fourth lines from the top of the first page, having been first inserted, and the erasure of the words 'and twenty pounds,' in the third line from the top of the second page, having been previously made." But when alterations and interlineations are very numerous, it is far better to have the will re-copied, if time will permit; but if not, then the next best thing is to initial where necessary.

Let the will, if possible, be made on one sheet of paper, but if it consist of several sheets, it is always prudent for the testator to sign his name at the bottom of each, and the witnesses to write their names in the margin, and near the bottom, to prevent the possibility of the withdrawal of one sheet and the substitution of another.

Codicils require to be executed in precisely the same formal manner as wills. These require care in their preparation; and, instead of adding four or five, as we have oftentimes seen, it would be far better to make a new will to prevent confusion, and frequently contradiction. But if codicils must be made,