Die Another Day

Nuncupative wills are usually deathbed type wills, statements orally declared before an acceptable number of witnesses, before the death of the testator. In the Act Books they are usually found with a header of "Nuncupative" or "Memorandum". Not all nuncupative wills are deathbed related, a good example of one is James Hall who died in 1637 who stated three times that he wanted a certain piece of land to go to his oldest son. Apparently he had signed over the land previously to his second wive’ s children. There was also a caveat filed by his second wife and another relative named as executrix.

A Caveat is where a creditor or family member requested of the courts that no action of a testator’s estate be taken without notification of the former parties. Caveats are also frequently entered in the Act Books, although there may also be a Caveat Book.

Word of the Week:
Masarde: A drinking cup originally made of maple wood, later made of silver or pewter.