If a husband has confidence in his wife,
as a woman of honor, justice and com
mon sense, he will show his regard for
her by so making his will that she may
carry on his plans, and his children re
ceive their portions at her death. This
of course is a matter for individual set
tlement. and depends wholly on circum
stances. Men of millions are not ham
pered by the rules that here apply to men
whose estate includes only a few thou
sands. Any will must be legally wit
nessed by as many witnesses as the
state approves.
Even an eminent lawyer has been
known so to word his will that his
legatees have fought bitterly over its
provisions in prolonged and furious jiti
gationi. The will of the late Samuel J.
Tilden is a case in point. Mr. Tilden in
tended the bulk of his fortune to go
toward the founding and perpetual en- I
dowment of a montimental library in
New York. His heirs disputed it. and
able lawyers picked flaws in technicali
ties and otherwise, so that eventually
the money was largely diverted from the
tesaLtores purpose. The moral is ob
vious. If you havg much to bestow, en-<
list the best legal advice yotu'can. and
have that in turn reinforced by other
counsel.
S* * * *
The great majority or us are not multi
millionaires. We are plodding people,
more or less thrifty, doing the best we
can with what we have. Our farm, our
house and lot in town, our live stock, our
pictures. our books and furniture. and
the savings of our hard-working years
are to be divided among our loved ones.
