GOVERNMENT AND LAW. 



68 



the partnership unless provided for by special 

 agreement. 



After dissolution no power remains to create 

 new obligations, and a partner could not renew 

 a partnership note, or even indorse one to pay 

 a prior debt of the firm. Unless provided for, 

 to the contrary, each partner has power to 

 collect accounts and to settle up the affairs of 

 the business. 



A notice of dissolution to all persons dealing 

 with the firm is necessary when the retiring 

 partner wishes to avoid further liability for 

 debts incurred by the partnership. The re- 

 tiring partner is already liable for all prior 

 debts. To avoid responsibility, notice must 

 be given to each person who has had dealings 

 with the partnership. A notice published in 

 the local paper will do for all subsequent credi- 

 tors. 



Wills. No particular form of a will is re- 

 quired. Any words that clearly convey the 

 idea of the testator are sufficient. 



Kinds. Unwritten or nuncupative and 

 written. All wills must be written, except 

 those of soldiers and sailors when in actual 

 service, or in some States they maybe allowed 

 in extreme cases when a necessity. The 

 parties to a will are the testator or person 

 making the will, the donee or person benefited 

 by the will, and the executor or person em- 

 powered to see that the provisions of the will 

 are carried out. 



Testator. The testator must be competent. 

 In New York, males of 18 years of age and 

 females of 1 6 years of age may dispose of per- 

 sonal property. A married woman cannot 

 make a valid will without the consent of her 

 husband, except in those States where their 

 disabilities have been removed. The testator 

 must possess mind and memory enough to 

 fully understand the nature and consequences 

 of his action. 



Donee. The donees are the persons bene- 

 fiting by the will. 



They are called devisees when the gift is of 

 real estate, and legatees when the gift is one 

 of personal property. 



Any person in general, capable of acquiring 

 property by his own exertion, may be a donee. 

 Corporations cannot take by will unless em- 

 powered to do so by their charters. 



Executor. Any person capable of making a 

 will may be an executor. 



He must see that the deceased is buried in a 

 suitable manner ; he must file a bond, offer 

 the will for probate, make the return and in- 

 ventory, collect the property, pay the debts 

 and distribute the remainder according to the 

 terms of the will. He must render an account 

 of all, and file with the probate office. 



Subject-matter. Little form is necessary for 

 disposing of personal property. A will might 

 be accepted for disposing of personal property 

 when parts relating to real estate would not be 

 valid. 



By common law the testator must be pos- 

 sessed of real estate he devises at the time the 

 will is made. By the laws of Vermont, Massa- 

 chusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and Vir- 

 ginia, he may devise any that he is possessed 

 of at the time of his death, if that was evi- 

 dently his intention. The laws of Maine, 

 Ohio, Illinois, and Connecticut are similar. 



Execution. The will must be signed by the 

 testator, or by some person acting for him at 

 his request. When he signs or acknowledges 

 the will he must declare it to be his last will. 



It is best to have three witnesses, though 

 some of the States require but two. The New 

 England States and some of the Southern 

 States require three ; the Middle and Western 

 States in general require two ; Louisiana re- 

 quires four witnesses. The witnesses must 

 write their names and addresses as witnesses. 

 New York prescribes a fine of fifty dollars for 

 their failure to do so. 



The testator must sign or acknowledge his 

 signature in the presence of these witnesses. 

 A codicil to be valid must be witnessed with 

 the same formalities as the will. 



A subsequent will revokes the preceding one. 

 All witnesses should be disinterested parties. 

 The following States have particular pro- 

 visions in their statutes concerning wills : 



NEW YORK. No person having a husband, 

 wife, child, or parent, shall devise more than 

 one half of his or her estate to any charitable, 

 literary, scientific, or kindred institution. 

 Should a testator marry after making a will 

 disposing of the whole of his estate, and there 

 should be born an issue of such marriage, 

 unless provision shall have been made for such 

 issue, by settlement, or unless the will provides 

 for such issue, or shows an intention not to 

 provide for such issue, the will shall be re- 

 voked and no other evidence shall be submitted 

 in rebuttal. 



A child born after the making of a will, and 

 not provided for by will or settlement, shall 

 succeed to such portion of the estate as would 

 have fallen to it had the parent died intestate. 



A bequest to a witness renders the will void 

 only so far as the witness and his bequest is 

 concerned. He is a competent witness still. 



COLORADO. A married man cannot by will 

 deprive his wife of more than one half his 

 estate. A married woman cannot deprive her 

 husband of more than one half her estate 

 without his consent in writing. 



CONNECTICUT. No bequest can be givn to 



