Any man or woman can write out his or her will, but unless quite familiar with such work it is better to employ a lawyer for the purpose. The person named in the will to carry out the purpose of the testator is known as the "executor". No person, not twenty-one at the time the will is proved can act as an executor. Neither a convict, an imbecile, nor one known to be a drug fiend or an habitual drunkard, is eligible for the post of an executor. If an executor be appointed against his will, the law does not compel him to serve. There must be at least two witnesses to a will, some states require three. The witnesses need not know the contents of the will, but they must understand before signing that it is a will, and they must see it signed by the testator. Under the common law the will is void if the witnesses are beneficiaries. In some states a will so witnessed is valid, except that the witnesses cannot receive their legacies. All the witnesses should sign at the same time and add their addresses. If an heir at law, say a child, is not mentioned in the will, the law assumes that he was forgotten by the testator and generally gives the share the heir would be entitled to if there were no will. At the end of the will the testator, in the presence of the witnesses, should write his name in full. AN EXECUTOR'S DUTIES An executor is the legal representative of the testator. It is his duty to see that the provisions of the will are carried out. No man is qualified to act as executor who is not competent to make a will. Executors, unless relieved by the provisions of the will, are required to file bonds, proportioned to the value of the estate, for the faithful performance of their duties. Should there be no executor named in the will, or if the person so named refuses to act, or if he dies or resigns, the court will appoint a person to act in his place. The executor appointed by the court is known or called an "administrator with the will annexed." In some states the court having jurisdiction of wills and estates of deceased is known as "the probate," in others it is called the "Surrogate's Court," and in still others, "The Orphan's." ADMINISTRATORS AND THEIR DUTIES If a man, owning property, dies without making a will, the judge of the proper court will appoint an administrator to settle the estate. This is the method of procedure: