| Show LEGAL SIDE OF SOLDIERS LIFE OFFERS MANY TANGLES department of judge advocate general kept busy sorting out difficulties IS ALWAYS FRIEND OF legal questions which may be aling explained tn thorough fash ion by men who have been trained to understand the points at issue new york to relieve the perplexed minds of our soldiers awaiting a call ta the battlefields of france to make complete the final rout of Eu ropes unmasked mifflan and what he stands for and the subsequent assurance of world democracy the judge advocate general s department Is busy these days advising them of many legal questions roost likely to affect them at camp mills and camp upton in this section in fact in every training cantonment throughout the united states soldiers have sought advice on the allotment of pay the making of wills the guard and custody of children actions in court debts mortgages goods bought on installment insurance and many other legal questions that alev tend to contuse the ordinary lay mind here Is the judge advocate generals department especially installed to aid the soldier legal advice and particularly equipped to give advice based on latest decisions of the court of appeals A guide for soldiers and beamen too has been compiled by able lawyers here for ho legal aid bu reau of the educational alliance of this city the guide Is distributed free to soldiers in the camp many of the knotty problems are explained in thorough fashion being reminded by this pamp lilet of certain obligations that bind him the soldier then seeks the judge advocate general for the more technical procedure may assign hie pay the pamphlet tells the soldier that ac allotment of pay Is much ahle tin alignment of wages A man in service instructs the government regularly to send part of ills any direct to his we or his mother or other depend enis it prevents dclay and possible los lo s and Is generally the businesslike thing to do cases may arise where muney orders sent home by enlisted mm are lost or delayed for weeks in the malls with resulting hardship to tho families bialk forms may be ob talked from commanding officers and they forward the allotment to the quartermaster ter master general the government thin sends the money direct to the sol diers family so long as he Is in the service As to the making of a valid will the soldier 1 given implicit instructions hi also Is shown how the law distin beaw een real estate and per hjal property how the law distria aks his personal property should he ille without making a will Is forcibly home to him it he leaves a w ke and children hia valte Is entitled to one third the remainder going to tha children in equal portions with inspect to real estate ills wife has lower rights in a one third interest as ong as she lives subject to lifts dower the real property descends to ills children which includes mcgall adopted children exception in making will it he leaves a wife and no children or grandchildren and no parent broth cr sister nephew or niece his wife takes all his personal property should he leave a wife aej no children or grandchildren but a parent brother sister nephew or niece alien one hnit of the personality and 2000 of tho residue go the wife being unmarried ills entire estate goes to his fa 1 alier it his father be dead then bis mother shares the estate with his brothers and slaters and the ahll dren of deceased brothers and sisters the latter taking the deceased dece sed parents chaie these seem to be the principal difficulties that beset the soldiers mind it he does not want his prop arty to be distributed in the manner prescribed by law he fiust make a valid will AC least two witnesses are necessary for the wills validity and the testator must sign the will at the end telling the witnesses the instrument Is his last u and testament there Is a notable exception it the soldier Is engaged in active service in the united states army or navy he may make a valid will by telling two persons griat he desires to be done with his property they must write it out according to the instructions of the soldier A will in this way can dispose of his personality but not abts real estate this sort of w should never be made except in contemplation fear or peril of death As some states do not permit this kind bf will it Is not safe for the soldier to tell his comrades from other stated that they can make a will in this way it his home Is in new york and he in active service and not on furlough or detached from active service for any reason he may take advantage of this sort of will then comes guardianship of ahll den s property if a soldier s children own property and he Is leaving them without anyone in whom he has confidence to look after that property as may often be the case if his wife Is not living it la desirable that a guard lan be appointed A general guardian Is guardian of the person as well of the property they are by the surrogates court pr the probate court for the county in which lie ahll dran alv e if more than fourteen henrs old the children subject to the approve nl of the surrogate or probate julge may select their own guardian there Is a mistaken idea that a man entering military service Is protected as to debts and litigation against him the idea has arisen from the fact that in europe after the beginning of the war some of the governments suspend cd the obligations on debts and con tracts not a light excuse tiie best opinions are to the effect I 1 that state governments under our con cannot suspend these obligations this means that the fact that he Is away on military service 1 not a legal excuse for falling to pel form obligations pay debts insurance pro alums due on furniture etc if there Is a case now in court against a soldier he must make proper provision tor attending to it lie should engage a lawyer and have him I 1 advise whether to appear or defend this Is 1 l protection for thereafter all notices of proceedings in the case will be sent to alie attorney and he will louk after the soldiers interests A soldier must remember that an action may legally be brou glit against him in his absence and after he has left home there are rules governing this phase that give a defendant an to answer in an action brought against him however if he be served by publication or by personal service outside alio state and there Is no one to take care of his interest a judgment by may be entered against the soldier ills property may be seized and sold on execution excepting chattels the law specially exempts the advisable thing for a soldier to do Is to close up his affairs before leaving for protection in the event that action be brought against him he should instruct some one living in his home to take any begil papers immediately to his nev it he has any goods such as furniture clothes jewelry or other chattels which he has bought by installments instalments or which he owns under a lease or a conditional dit ional sale the tact that he Is called away will not relieve him from conditions in his contract or from making the specified payments as they come due the best thing to do it he cannot pay up the balance due Is to to have some responsible person make the payments regularly for him goods may be taken it he falls to make any provision 0 goods are liable to be taken away from him on default after this the seller must go through certain formalities for the law makes certain provisions in his favor these matters arc somewhat involved and technical so that it Is wise to take the contract to his attorney and have him advise as to his rights and as to ills obligations in regard to mortgages on real estate and personal property his absence Is no legal excuse tor failure to make payments as sped fled in the mortgage bond or the mortgage itself foreclosure may follow A lease of his residence Is not terminated by the war or the necessities of the draft it goods are in stora se the warehouseman has a lien and may sell them to satisfy a bill A power ot attorney under seal and acknowledged before a notary Is a tor the interests of the soldier entering the service does not excuse him from paying his premiums on life insurance and failure to do so may cause the policy to lapse the beneal clary will suffer I 1 lie should arrange with some one to pay alie premiums as they are due the war cause in the policy some have it ldes for payment at long intervals and that insurance Is not to he p ild it the insured meets his death in active military or naval service within a certain period atter the issuing of alie policy |
