Adams Papers Digital Edition

Early Diary of John Adams, volume 1

A List of Pleadings, October–December 1758.

A Letter to William Crawford, Describing a Visit to Boston, October–November 1758.

[Notes on Probate Law, October–December 1758.] <a xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" href="#EJA01d054n1" class="note" id="EJA01d054n1a">1</a> JA [Notes on Probate Law, October–December 1758.] Adams, John
Notes on Probate Law, October–December 1758. 1

Tis absurd, to for a Testator to say, after he has devised his Lands to one in fee, that they shall go over to another.

There is no Remainder to an Estate in fee. A fee simple, upon fee but a Testator may very legally and sensibly devise Lands to one in fee, and then say, in Case Death or any other Accident should happen to incapacitate the Devisee to take, then the Lands shall go to another.

If a Testator should devise £20 to one, and all the Rest of his personal Estate to another, and it should happen that this particular Legacy could not pass to that Legatee, the Residuary Legatee shall have that £20, before the Executor.

 99 1.

These notes, perhaps drawn from a treatise, appear on {25} of the MS upside down (i.e. running the same way with the preceding entry) and crowded into a blank space to the right of the later items in the preceding entry. They were thus written later than the list of pleadings that comprise that entry; see note 1 there.