The Ancient Greek practice concerning wills was not the same in all places; some states permitted men to dispose of their estates, others wholly deprived them of that privilege.

According to Plutarch, Solon "is much commended for his law concerning wills; for before his time no man was allowed to make any, but all the wealth of deceased persons belonged to their families; but he permitted them to bestow it on whom they pleased, esteeming friendship a stronger tie than kindred, and affection than necessity, and thus put every man's estate in the disposal of the possessor; yet he allowed not all sorts of wills, but required the following conditions in all persons that made them: Wills were usually signed before several witnesses, who put seals to them for confirmation, then placed them in the hands of trustees, who were obliged to see them performed.

Thus Callias, fearing to be cut off by a wicked conspiracy, is said to have made an open declaration of his will before the popular assembly at Athens.

There were several copies of wills in Diogenes Laërtius, as those of Aristotle, Lyco of Troas, and Theophrastus; whence it appears they had a common form, beginning with a wish for life and health."

[1] The Romans were wont to set aside wills, as being inofficiosa, deficient in natural duty, if they disinherited or totally passed by (without assigning a true and sufficient reason) any of the children of the testator.

The rights of heirs and descendants were protected by enactments which secured to them a legal minimum, the querela inofficiosi testamenti being the remedy of those passed over.

[1] In Christian tradition, Eusebius and others have related of Noah's testament, made in writing, and witnessed under his seal, by which he disposed of the whole world.

Additionally, wills are spoken of in the Old Testament (in Genesis 48), where Jacob bequeaths to his son Joseph, a portion of his inheritance, double to that of his brethren.

I, 1, voluntatis nostrae justa sententia de eo quod quis post mortem suam fieri velit.

How far the liberty extended is uncertain; it is the opinion of some authorities that complete disposition of land and goods was allowed, of others that limited rights of wife and children were recognized.

By means of the doctrine to uses, however, the devise of land was secured by a circuitous method, generally by conveyance to feoffees to uses in the lifetime of the feoffor to such uses as he should appoint by his will.

Up to comparatively recent times a will of lands still bore traces of its origin in the conveyance to uses inter vivos.

The inconvenience of this state of things soon began to be felt, and was probably aggravated by the large amount of land thrown into the market after the dissolution of the monasteries.

[1] The effect of these acts was to make lands held in fee simple devisable by will in writing, to the extent of two-thirds where the tenure was by knight service, and the whole where it was in socage.

2. c. 24), by abolishing tenure by knight service, made all lands devisable, in the same vein the Statute of Frauds (29 Cha.

The Statute of Frauds required, inter alia, that all devises should be in writing, signed by the testator or by some person for him in his presence and by his direction, and should also be subscribed by three or four credible witnesses.

Devises of lands have gradually been made liable to the claims of creditors by a series of statutes beginning with the year 1691.

The witnesses to a written will need not be "credible," and it was specially enacted by Administration of Justice Act 1705 (4 & 5 Ann.

Excluding the latter for the present, its main provisions were these:[1] Rules of interpretation or construction depend chiefly on decisions of the courts, to a smaller extent on statutory enactment.

Where it contains devises or bequests bad in law, as in general restraint of marriage, or tending to create perpetuities, or contrary to public policy, or to some particular enactment, only the illegal part is void.

c. 96) stealing, injuring or concealing a will, whether of real or personal estate, was punishable with penal servitude for life.

Fraudulent concealment of a will material to the title by a vendor or mortgagor of land or chattels is, by the Law of Property Amendment Act 1859 (22 & 23 Vict.

Louisiana followed French law, by which the testator can under no circumstances alienate by will more than half his property if he leave issue or ascendants.

Thus something very similar to a testamentary disposition was secured by means resembling those employed in England before the Wills Act 1540 (32 Hen.

The main disadvantage of the trust disposition was that it was liable to be overthrown by the heir, who could reduce ex capite lecti all voluntary deeds made to his prejudice within sixty days of the death of his ancestor.

c. 101) made it competent to any owner of lands to settle the succession to the same in the event of death by testamentary or mortis causa deeds or writings.

The two main types of pacta successoria are the contractual disclaimer of interest (Erbverzichtvertrag) and deed of variation (Erbauskaufvertrag).

[1] The persons who are to take under a will are decided by different rules according as the property is movable or immovable, the former being governed by the law of the domicile, the latter by the lex loci rei sitae.

It was held, however, in 1881 by the court of appeal in England that, under the will of an Englishman domiciled in Holland, leaving personal property to children, children legitimated per subsequens matrimonium could take, as they were legitimate by the law of Holland, though not by the law of England (re Goodman's Trusts, 17 Ch.

But it is to be noted that a person born out of lawful wedlock, though legitimated, could not succeed as heir to real estate in England as of 1911[update] (Birtwhistle v. Vardill, 2 Cl.