Democratic Sentinel, Volume 20, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 March 1896 — The Spirit of a Will Prevails. [ARTICLE]

The Spirit of a Will Prevails.

Surrogate Fitzgerald has written an opinion of much value and interest in deciding to admit to probate the will of Mary A. Buchan. TUie will was written on two sides of a sheet of notepaper, and the lack of punctuation and some co. fusion as to capitals show that the woman was not possessed of great education, or was writing under some unusual difficulties. It is possible, however, to make out the main design of the testator. Surrogate Fitzgerald carefully reviewed the evidence. One of the witnesses who was interested in sustaining the will swore that the legal requirements were fulfilled in the signing and publication of the will, but the other witness, who seemed to have a leaning toward the other side, gave testimony showing that it was not properly executed. Surrogate Fitzgerald says: “The statute in reference to wills was enacted to effectuate, not to defeat, the wishes of competent testators who act without constraint in respect to the disposition of their estates.” He shows by many citations from the reports that when the circumstances indicate a purpose to make a will in a certain way the courts favor such an interpretation of the evidenceas will not lead to a miscarriage of justice. In some cases the execution of a will has been proved, even where thesubscribing witnesses, for some corrupt purpose, deny that it was properly executed. The New York State courts have permitted the publication of a will to be shown from circumstances where there was no direct or positive evidence by the witnesses. The decision is another indication of the unwillingness of the courts to disturb the will of any person because of the lack of overwhelming technical proof of all the facts required to be shown. Surrogate Fitzgerald's review of the cases on the subject will be of great value to those who practice probate law.—New York Tribune.