FAILED TO SIGN WILL.
And the Grand Avenue Methodist
Church Gets None of His Money.
Through the death of Christian E. Schoellkopf, a wealthy bachelor of Kansas City, the fund of the state university will be enriched $18,954.92. Yesterday John P. Gilday, who was appointed by Public Administrator R. S. Crohn to appraise the property left by Schoellkopf, to determine a just inheritance tax on his estate, reported to the probate court that Schoellkopf's realty holdings amounted to $308,15.11, while his personal property, exclusive of certain United States bonds and other valuable papers, were estimated to be worth $31,035.65.
Mr. Schoellkoopf, at the time of his death, which occurred in a little town in Kansas, where he had gone to look after property interests owned by him, left only two heirs, a brother, Henry Schoellkopf, and a nephew, Henry Schoellkopf, Jr., both residing in Chicago. He had written a will, but according to evidence introduced, he failed to sign it.
The deceased was a warm friend to the Grand Avenue Methodist church during his lifetime, and was one of its liberal financial supporters. It was understood by many of his close bachelor friends that in his will he had planned to bequeath the church something handsome. But it developed that no signed will could be found and the estate was taken in charge by the public administrator, Mr. Crohn, and is to be divided between the two heirs.
