Preface to the Enlarged Edition

Tins volume is a revision and an enlargement of Notes on the Law of Wills and the Administration of the Estates of Deceased Persons published by me seven years ago. That work was the publication in book form of lectures on the sub ject which I had delivered yearly to the senior class of the Kansas City School of Law. It was confined in its citations mainly to the law of Missouri and Kansas. It proved a very useful book both for students and practitioners. The present volume is an enlargement of that work by in cluding all of the leading cases in this country and in Eng land on the subject. It is intended to make this the best onc volume work on the subject. It contains a concise Statement of all the principles, in language supported by authority. It contains also an exposition of the reason and relative bearing of the rules. In other words, it is designed to be what the lawyer and student need—a tart book which places them in possession of the subject, and not a running digest of ill assorted cases. It will be found of especial value to the Western lawyer and student, as it cites every case and discusses every rule em bodied in the common or statute law of the following group of states: Missouri, Arkansas, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Ne vada, and California. It cites, also, every case bearing upon the subject decided in the Federal Courts, including the Su Pfeme Court of the United States, the Circuit Courts of Ap Peals, the Circuit and District Courts, the territorial courts, and the courts of the District of Columbia. The law of wills in this country unfortunately is in a badly tangled condition. The best-posted lawyers are puzzled when they approach this subject, and their embarrassment is not