Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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FEBRUARY. 1960 DO YOU NEE By Tench F Who will get your property the privilege of answering tha and providing in the will how shall go after your death. This perhaps the best reason, for ma Without a Will If a person dies without a will, his property is distrib uiea according to the law in effect at the time of his death. The rules of this law cannot fit the individual needs and desires of every person regarding the disposition of his property. Such rules may not fit your needs and desires. Under the present South Carolina law, when any person dies without disposing of his property by will, leaving a widow and more than one child, the widow takes one third of the estate and the remaining two thirds is divided equally among the children; but if he leaves a widow and only one child, then the widow takes one half of the estate and the child takes the remaining one half. If he leaves a widow but no diilHrnn dm VII, tilt vviutftV UIRL'S one half of the estate, and the other half is equally divided among his parents and his brothers and sisters. If he leaves no widow or children, the estate is equally divided among his parents and his brothers and sisters. The law provides for inheritance in other situations where there is no will, depending on who survives and the degree of blood relationship to the deceased. When a woman dies without a will, her estate goes to her husband and her children or relations under the same rules as in the case of a man. If a person wants to dispose of his estate in some way other than as outlined above, he must make a will. For example, he may want all of his estate to go to his wife, or he may have a handicapped child for whose care he wants to make special provision. In these examples, and in many other instances, the property owner needs a will to carry out his wishes. There are other good reasons for making a will, even if a person is satisfied for his property to go as it would if lie died without a will. THE GOOD ( Every now and then you h< in the good old days " Or, "Those were the good ol Rut were they really good. Let's say people are talking i thov speak of the "good old d; around 1910 or 1920. Textile mills, like other bn then. Nor were the streets, a items. To you who worked in text good old days" ask vourself the.< as comfortable as mills of today' machinery and processes we ha1 same? Were working condition Wo think these are the "goc good that people 40 or 50 years these days as "the good old ria\ :D A WILL? *. Owens after your death? You have t question by making a will, and to whom your property ; is the primary purpose, and king a will. \ Mr. Tench P. Owens was graduated from Presbyterian College and received his LL.B. degree from the University of Virginia Law School in 1947. He is engaged in the practice of law in Clinton with offices at 203 W. Pitts Street. Naming an Executor It is important for a prop erty-owner to make a will in order to appoint an executor to wind up his affairs and transfer the property to his beneficiaries. If any of the beneficiaries are under twenty-one years of age. the will should also appoint a guardian. The person making the will can choose persons in whom he has confidence for these responsible tasks. If he dies without a will, the Probate Judge would appoint an administrator to handle the estate, and a guardian when necessary. But these persons may not be the ones whom the deceased would h a v e wanted to handle the estate. Reducing Costs A will can reduce the costs of administration of the estate in several ways, usually by an amount considerably larger than the cost of having the will prepared by a lawyer. For instance, the naming of an executor in the will enables him to qualify and act as such ordinarily as soon as the will is admitted to probate. This saves the delay and cost of publishing the notice required prior to the )LD DAYS? ear someone say, "Now. back Id days." when compared with present ibout 40 or 50 years ago when ivs." That would mean back isinesses, were not the same utomobiles, stoves and other lie mills as far back as "the ;e questions. Were those mills ' Did they have the up-to-date kTo today? Were the hours the s in general the same? d days." Let's make them so ! from now will look back on 'S." THE CLOTHMAKER appointment of an administrator. The administrator of an estate must furnish a surety bond to the Probate Judge, and the cost of the bond is paid out of the estate. A will can save this cost because an executor named in the will need not furnish such a bond. If a guardian is needed, the cost of another bond is saved by naming the guardian in the will. Frequentlv. a will results in substantial saving in costs when property in the estate is to be sold. If there is no will, it would be necessary to obtain the approval of the court at the expense of the estate, whereas a will may authorize the executor to sell property and do other acts to wind up the estate without having to go to court and obtain approval. If any portion of the property passes to minor children under the law in estates where there is no will, it is necessary to obtain court approval of transactions affecting that property so long as any of the children are under the age of twenty-one years. Again, this causes additional expenses which are paid from the estate. In addition to reducing costs, a will can save loved ones not only time and trouble, but also headaches and heartaches. Another advantage of making a will, especially in larger estates, is that in many instances it permits legitimate saving in taxes, thereby preserving more of the estate for the beneficiaries. Many people think it is not necessary to have a will for a small estate. Actually, it is the small estate which will suffer more proportionately bv having to use part of it for paying expenses which often could have been avoided by a will. In South Carolina, any person of sound mind may make a will if such person is either twenty-one years of age or married and above the age of eighteen years. A will is a legal instrument which should be prepared bv a lawver. It is an important document disposing, as it does, of all one's real and personal property. and taking effect when it is too late to change it. Such a matter ought to be handled by someone who is qualified to do so by professional training and experience. The fee for preparing and supervising the execution of a will is small compared to the savings and advantages mentioned above. It is hard to say why so Hp jJM "Twas the night before Christmas" says Steve, age 9, and Wayne, age 12, sons of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Hairston, Lydia Mills. CLINTON CAMPFIRE G HOLD DAD-DALG f HT 9 J n^?/\?^*iow??. 1A> 41^. 1 __A : ?u?viu tut me udnquet in< the girls added beauty to the picti part of a big living Valentine. many people fail to make a will. Possibly one reason is that the pressure of modern living makes it difficult to set aside enough time to have a will drawn. Some people are reluctant to face the thought of death as related to making a will. But we can't get around the fact that life is uncertain, especially in this age of the fast automobile. The time to make a will is when things are going well. That is the time when a person can think most clearly about the welfare of his family. As family and circumstances change, a person should review his will in the light of those changes to determine if it is still aaennato Most people spend a large part of their lives working to acquire money, automobiles, furniture, a home, land, and other forms of property. The right to own property is one of our great constitutional rights. It adds to the protection and security of the family. It is one of the things that distinguishes our form of society from the communistic form of society. Next in importance to ownTHE NEW MAD Certificate of for onrstanding 1 is a war Kenneth Tk (or generous and meaningful support. c to extend the frontiers of wientifi and patient care, developed in the etippling diseases nhuh threaten the i THE NATIONAL Kenneth Thomas and Roger I ceived the above certificate for sei in the road block solicitation on S\ day it was very cold and rainy. ( road blocks. 7 IRLS AND BLUEBIRDS HTER BANQUET IJ H^^L ^^V ? * F\jA I HL jp ^ ^ 1 ji^I eluded this huge heart. Some of ire for their dads hv hofftmirin a Four Employees Serve On County Jury Four Clinton - Lvdia employees served in the Laurens County General Sessions Court last week and received jury pay under the provisions of the recently announced jury pay policy. The first employees to benefit under the new policy after ably fulfilling their civic responsibility were: Herman Johnson and Carl C. Heaton, Sr., Clinton, and Harold Hampton and Floyd Moore, Lvdia. ing property is the matter of transferring this property after death so as to best protect the family. The wise and prudent thing to do is to protect the fruits of your labor and the objects of your affection by making a will. Taking this step will contribute to your peace of mind by freeing you of one more worry! LCH OF DIMES 1 Appreciation voluntary service Jed to loraas njhlingTHi Nsiionsi Foundation c research, professional education comjuest of polio, to other dread Jignits and usefulness of human life . FOUNDATION t e?+^~-<P G-& i . ?-s)unaway, Clinton Mills, each rervices rendered. They participated jnday. January 14. This particular Over $117.00 was collected by the