HOW TO MAKE A WILL
The will not only shows the purpose of the testator, but it serves
as a bar to litigation among the natural heirs.
Any man or woman can write out his or her will, but unless quite
familiar with such work it is better to employ a lawyer for the
purpose.
The person named in the will to carry out the purpose of the
testator is known as the "executor".
No person, not twenty-one at the time the will is proved can act
as an executor.
Neither a convict, an imbecile, nor one known to be a drug fiend
or an habitual drunkard, is eligible for the post of an executor.
If an executor be appointed against his will, the law does not
compel him to serve.
There must be at least two witnesses to a will, some states
require three.
The witnesses need not know the contents of the will, but they
must understand before signing that it is a will, and they must
see it signed by the testator.
Under the common law the will is void if the witnesses are
beneficiaries.
In some states a will so witnessed is valid, except that the
witnesses cannot receive their legacies.
All the witnesses should sign at the same time and add their
addresses.
If an heir at law, say a child, is not mentioned in the will, the
law assumes that he was forgotten by the testator and generally
gives the share the heir would be entitled to if there were no
will.
At the end of the will the testator, in the presence of the
witnesses, should write his name in full.
