been, as evidenced by the indorsement thereon, filed in this court, on the day of the name of said decedent, .... 19...., and the same bearing ............. as maker thereof, and the names of myself and ............ as attesting witnesses thereto. I am the identical ..... whose name appears on said will as one of the attesting witnesses thereto. And at the date of said instrument I also knew.... the other subscribing wit ness thereto. The said instrument was signed by the said testator, at in the County of ............. in the State of..., on the said .... day of ............, 19...., the day it bears date, in the presence of myself and of the other said subscribing witness, .............; and the said testator, ............, thereupon published sai·l instrument as his last will and testament, and declared to us the same to be his last will and testament, and requested us, in attestation thereof, to sign our names thereto as witnesses. The other said attesting witness, ............, and I, then and there, in the presence of the said testator, ..., and in the presence of each other subscribed our names to said instrument as witnesses thereto. At the time of executing said will, as aforesaid, the said testator, .... was of the age of...... ............. years, or about that age, and was of sound and disposing mind, and not acting under duress, menace, fraud, undue influence or misrepresentation, and the said will was then executed by the said............ in all partienlars as shown on the instrument at the present time. [Signature of attesting witness.] Subscribed and sworn to before me, in open court, this day of..., 19..... [Signature, title, and seal of officer.] 41. Testimony of witness on Probate of Lost or Spoliated Will. [Title.] If the proof is to be made by the evidence of either of the attesting witnesses to the will, include all the evidence offered in No. 40, and continue:] I further know that last said will and testament was in existence on the ................................ day of ................................, 19...., the date of the death of said decedent, ......., and that the same was then in the pos session of ............, at [Or, if it can be shown that the will was fraudulently destroyed in the lifetime of the testator, make that allegation and set out the facts showing the time and the manner in which the will was destroyed.] I further know, by the following reasons, that said will was never revoked by said decedent: [Set out the facts.] I further know that said will was lost [or, spoliated, or destroyed] subsequent to the death of said testator, at the time and in the manner following: [Set out the facts.] [Signature of witness.] Subscribed and sworn to before me, in open court, this day of..... 19..... [Signature, title, and seal of officer.] 42. Testimony of Executor on Probate of Will. [Title.] Commence as in No. 40 and include all the evidence contained therein, to the extent of the witness's knowledge, and continue:] My true and correct name is ...... and I am the identical person named as executor [or, as one of the executors] in said instrument of writing marked and designated as the last will and testament of the said decedent, I hereby consent to act as executor of said will. The said last will and testament came into my possession at the time and in the manner following: [Set out the facts.] I have, therefore, good reason to believe, and do believe the same is the unrevoked last will and testament of the said decedent, [Signature of Witness.] Subscribed and sworn to [etc., as in No. 41.] 43. Cross-examination of Witness in Contest of Probate of Wil!. [Title.] being duly sworn and having heretofore testified herein on behalf of the ..... ............ as shown by the record, does now, in open court, further depose and say, in open court, in answer to interrogatories propounded to him on cross examination by counsel for the .... ................................, as follows: 1. Question. [May relate to residence of Witness.] 1. Answer. 2. Question. [May relate to witness's acquaintance with the testator.] 2. Answer. 3. Question. [May inquire as to whether witness was a subscribing witness to the will, the conditions under which the will was attested, etc.] 4. Question. [May relate to particular acts of the testator in the execution of the will, what he said to attesting witnesses, what attesting witnesses did in the presence of each other and in the presence of the testator in the matter of the execution of the will, and what particular circumstances surrounded these several transactions.] 4. Answer. 5. [May relate to the age of the testator at the time the will was made, the general condition of his mind, and whether testator was acting under duress, menace, fraud, undue influence or misrepresentation in the making of the will.] 6. [Continue as to any matter relevant to the issue on the direct testimony of the witness.] 6. Answer. [Signature of witness.] Subscribed and sworn to [etc., as in No. 41.]. 44. Proof to Support Testimony Relative to Signature of Testator, Etc. ..... [Title.] ...... being first duly sworn, on his oath says: I am a resident of the County of .; and I was in the State of years of age on my last birthday. I am well and personally acquainted with ..........., whose name appears upon the purported last will and testament of deceased, which will bears date of the ..... day of 19...., the same being the instrument now shown and presented in open court, to me for the purpose of examining the indorsement thereon of the said name of as one of the attesting witnesses thereto. I know that said subscribing witness is not a resident of this said county of..........., that he is not at this time present in last said county [or, that said witness has gone to parts unknown to your petitioners for the probate of said will], that none of the interested parties to this proceeding can, with due diligence, procure a citation, or subpoena, to be served upon said attesting witness to compel his attendance in this court at the time set for the hearing on the petition for the probate of said will, and with due diligence said interested parties are unable to procure the deposition of said attesting witness to be used at said hearing, and the testimony of said attesting witness cannot be procured if this cause be continued for a reasonable time, as affiant has good reason to believe and does believe, said reasons being these, to wit: .... [Or, if said attesting witness is dead or has become incompetent to testify, such existing facts should be substituted for those last stated above.] .... Wherefore, affiant, as an interested party to the above entitled proceeding in this court, now, in open court, produces the person of............, a competent person, of legal age, who resides at and who has informed your affiant that he is acquainted with, and knows, the signatures of and, and offers now to prove by last said witness that the signatures of and ....... as indorsed on said will are the genuine signatures of last named persons, said testimony being the best evidence obtainable of the due and legal execution of said will. [Signature of affiant.] Subscribed and sworn to [etc., as in No. 41.]. 45. Testimony Relative to Signature and Sanity of Testator. [Title.] as follows: being duly sworn, on his oath testifies in open court I am a resident of the County of in the State of years of age on my last birthday. ; and I was I was well and personally acquainted with the said testator, .............., during his lifetime, my said acquaintance having been continuous from about the year ..... until the year 19...., the nature and circumstances of said acquaintance being this, to wit, During the time of my acquaintance with the said decedent, as aforesaid, I have often seen him write letters and instruments of divers kinds [or, I have often had access to, and a chance to inspect, his writings], with the result that the character of his handwriting has been impressed upon my mind, and I am thus enabled to identify his handwriting wherever it appears. In relation to the instrument now shown me, to wit, and instrument bearing date of the day of, 19..., bearing the name of said decedent, ............, as testator, and the names of............ and, as attesting witnesses thereto, said instrument purporting to be the last will and testament of said decedent, I having examined the said written name of said decedent as indorsed thereon, do find that last said name and signature is the genuine signature of the said decedent, ............. [or, is not the genuine signature of the said decedent]. I further know that, at the time the said decedent, executed last said will and testament, he was of the age of about I. P. F.-3 ............ years, and was of sound and disposing mind, and as evidence of such ability on his part I further aver that: [State the facts.] [Signature of witness.] Subscribed and sworn to [etc., as in No. 41.]. 46. General Notice of Take Deposition on Probate of Will. [Title.] The People of the State of To ......... and All Persons Interested in Said Estate: The following named persons known to be interested in the estate of the said ............, deceased, viz, ............, and their attorneys, respectively, of record, will take notice that on the day of 19..., there was produced and filed in the above named court, in the above entitled action, an instrument of writing purporting to be the last will and testament of the said deceased, and on the ............ day of ................................, 19...., a petition was also filed in said action, signed by ............., praying for the probate of said will, and that letters testamentary thereon issue to .............. the executor names in said will; that the time last appointed by the court for the hearing of said petition is the day of ............, 19...., at ............, and at the hour of o'clock, M.; that on the of, .......... day of ............, 19...., the petitioners, viz, and ............, named in the aforesaid petition, will take the deposition of sundry witnesses, to be used as evidence in the trial of the issues involved in the hearing of said petition in said court in said cause, and said depositions will be taken at the office of ..... at ...... in the County of .... in the o'clock, A. M. and o'clock, P. M., of last said day, and that the taking of the same will be adjourned and continued from day to day at the same place and between the same hours until such depositions are completed. State of........., between the hours of [Signature of attorney.] [Signatures of parties to notice.] 47. Affidavit of Service of Notice to Take Deposition. State of..........., County of..... I was being duly sworn, on his oath says: I am a resident of the County of............ in the State of years of age on my last birthday; and I am not interested directly or indirectly in the estate of, deceased I made service of the foregoing and attached notice to take deposition on .... and ..... ..., persons named in said notice, |