BBB Advises on Estate Planning

The Better Business Bureau advises people to create an estate plans if they own something of value.

An estate plan can be as simple as drafting a will or as complex as setting up a trust and a living will. At the least, anyone who has assets to pass on to specific individuals should create a will, the bureau advises. A will can allocate assets as well as establish guardianship of children.

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BBB gives advice on creating an estate plan

>Pattern and Practice of DDSN

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A mother fighting a 12-year legal war with the state Department of Disabilities and Special Needs over the alleged gang rape of her mentally retarded daughter said the agency is now trying to exact revenge by removing her as the girl’s guardian.

Circuit Court Judge John Few said this month that he’s “troubled” by an investigator’s report that said the daughter was psychologically abused and encouraged to cut ties with her mother by Greenville disability workers — actions that may have affected her testimony in court proceedings concerning guardianship.

A probate judge removed Brenda Bryant as her daughter’s guardian last year, saying she had hindered her daughter’s care and used her $250,000 settlement from the rape case to benefit herself.

However, the judge, Edward Sauvain, also said he is “extremely concerned” about a “pattern and practice” by DDSN and its local agencies of “sweeping legitimate complaints under the rug” and retaliation against people who question its actions.

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Mom says state agency wants revenge

Pattern and Practice of DDSN

A mother fighting a 12-year legal war with the state Department of Disabilities and Special Needs over the alleged gang rape of her mentally retarded daughter said the agency is now trying to exact revenge by removing her as the girl’s guardian.

Circuit Court Judge John Few said this month that he’s “troubled” by an investigator’s report that said the daughter was psychologically abused and encouraged to cut ties with her mother by Greenville disability workers — actions that may have affected her testimony in court proceedings concerning guardianship.

A probate judge removed Brenda Bryant as her daughter’s guardian last year, saying she had hindered her daughter’s care and used her $250,000 settlement from the rape case to benefit herself.

However, the judge, Edward Sauvain, also said he is “extremely concerned” about a “pattern and practice” by DDSN and its local agencies of “sweeping legitimate complaints under the rug” and retaliation against people who question its actions.

Full Article and Source:
Mom says state agency wants revenge

>Probate Official Scam

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Orangeburg County authorities are again cautioning people to be wary of scam artists.

A woman said she, “was phoned by someone claiming to be a representative of the probate court and that the woman asked her several personal questions, including her Social Security number,” Orangeburg County Probate Court Judge Pandora Jones-Glover said.

The woman did not give the caller any personal information.

Jones-Glover: “It is not the policy of the probate court to request personal information over the phone. I also don’t see why any probate court in South Carolina would do so. If anyone has questions, please call us and we will be happy to deal with any concerns you may have.”

Orangeburg Department of Public Safety Lt. Becky Whitman: “People should remember never to give out their personal information over the phone. Scam activity picks up in the spring and around the holiday seasons. More recently we have gotten reports of letters asking for secret shoppers. Most of these invariably have Canadian stamps on them. A lot of times there are misspelled words, too.”

Source:
Scammer pretending to be probate official

Probate Official Scam

Orangeburg County authorities are again cautioning people to be wary of scam artists.

A woman said she, “was phoned by someone claiming to be a representative of the probate court and that the woman asked her several personal questions, including her Social Security number,” Orangeburg County Probate Court Judge Pandora Jones-Glover said.

The woman did not give the caller any personal information.

Jones-Glover: “It is not the policy of the probate court to request personal information over the phone. I also don’t see why any probate court in South Carolina would do so. If anyone has questions, please call us and we will be happy to deal with any concerns you may have.”

Orangeburg Department of Public Safety Lt. Becky Whitman: “People should remember never to give out their personal information over the phone. Scam activity picks up in the spring and around the holiday seasons. More recently we have gotten reports of letters asking for secret shoppers. Most of these invariably have Canadian stamps on them. A lot of times there are misspelled words, too.”

Source:
Scammer pretending to be probate official

>Fighting For Grandkids

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Kathie Good has been fighting for five months to regain temporary custody of her grandkids.

Her voluntary revelation about a 24-year-old incident has become the latest hurdle in her quest and may be one too big to overcome. That she refused to believe her daughter hurt her grandson was one of the first hurdles.

The kids were turned over to the S.C. Department of Social Services in November after doctors were concerned about what they noticed during repeated doctor visits. According to court documents, doctors found bruises on the back and elsewhere of Good’s infant grandson, broken blood vessels in his eyes and swelling on his penis.

A specialist at the Medical University of South Carolina concurred with the concerns of the doctors.

Good’s son-in-law was charged with abuse.

DSS suspects Good’s daughter of neglect.

Good, who had temporary custody, believed the court rulings allowed supervised contact between her daughter and grandkids, which is why she let her daughter visit. DSS and the guardian ad litem said it wasn’t allowed.

This isn’t about suspected child abuse. That case will play itself out in the courts. The parents will be found guilty or not guilty in due time. This is about a grandmother and her grandkids, foster care and family placement, and the hurdles involved.

Full Article and Source:
Issac Bailey Foster care decision in kids’ interest?

Fighting For Grandkids

Kathie Good has been fighting for five months to regain temporary custody of her grandkids.

Her voluntary revelation about a 24-year-old incident has become the latest hurdle in her quest and may be one too big to overcome. That she refused to believe her daughter hurt her grandson was one of the first hurdles.

The kids were turned over to the S.C. Department of Social Services in November after doctors were concerned about what they noticed during repeated doctor visits. According to court documents, doctors found bruises on the back and elsewhere of Good’s infant grandson, broken blood vessels in his eyes and swelling on his penis.

A specialist at the Medical University of South Carolina concurred with the concerns of the doctors.

Good’s son-in-law was charged with abuse.

DSS suspects Good’s daughter of neglect.

Good, who had temporary custody, believed the court rulings allowed supervised contact between her daughter and grandkids, which is why she let her daughter visit. DSS and the guardian ad litem said it wasn’t allowed.

This isn’t about suspected child abuse. That case will play itself out in the courts. The parents will be found guilty or not guilty in due time. This is about a grandmother and her grandkids, foster care and family placement, and the hurdles involved.

Full Article and Source:
Issac Bailey Foster care decision in kids’ interest?

>Mini Law School for Public

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The Technical College of the Lowcountry is accepting applications for its Law School for Non-Lawyers program, a seven-week course that will explore a variety of legal subjects.

The three-hour, weekly classes will be conducted Feb. 10 to March 24 and are expected to cover a range of topics, including criminal law, bankruptcy, torts, real estate law and juvenile justice.

An attorney volunteered to teach a class in health care and elder law and another on arbitration and meditation.

The course is offered at several technical colleges across the state by the S.C. Bar Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the S.C. Bar Association.

When: 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays, Feb. 10 – March 24
Where: Technical College of the Lowcountry, Beaufort Campus, 921 Ribaut Road.
To register: 843-525-8205
or www.tcl.edu/continuing_education/howtoregister.asp

Topics to be covered:
•Feb. 10 –Overview of state courts and alternative dispute resolution
•Feb. 17 — Juvenile justice and child protection hearings
•Feb. 24 — Family law and real estate/landlord-tenant law
•March 3 — Wills, estates and probate; health care and elder law
•March 10 — Employment law and S.C. workers’ compensation law
•March 17 –Bankruptcy law, consumer law and debt collection
•March 24 — Criminal law and torts

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Attorneys offer mini-law school for the public

Mini Law School for Public

The Technical College of the Lowcountry is accepting applications for its Law School for Non-Lawyers program, a seven-week course that will explore a variety of legal subjects.

The three-hour, weekly classes will be conducted Feb. 10 to March 24 and are expected to cover a range of topics, including criminal law, bankruptcy, torts, real estate law and juvenile justice.

An attorney volunteered to teach a class in health care and elder law and another on arbitration and meditation.

The course is offered at several technical colleges across the state by the S.C. Bar Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the S.C. Bar Association.

When: 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays, Feb. 10 – March 24
Where: Technical College of the Lowcountry, Beaufort Campus, 921 Ribaut Road.
To register: 843-525-8205
or www.tcl.edu/continuing_education/howtoregister.asp

Topics to be covered:
•Feb. 10 –Overview of state courts and alternative dispute resolution
•Feb. 17 — Juvenile justice and child protection hearings
•Feb. 24 — Family law and real estate/landlord-tenant law
•March 3 — Wills, estates and probate; health care and elder law
•March 10 — Employment law and S.C. workers’ compensation law
•March 17 –Bankruptcy law, consumer law and debt collection
•March 24 — Criminal law and torts

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Attorneys offer mini-law school for the public

Angry Attorneys

York County defense attorneys are reacting with anger to the prospect of not getting paid to represent indigent clients.

The S.C. Commission on Indigent Defense has suspended the payment of legal fees in all noncapital criminal and civil cases, a decision blamed on cuts to the state budget. State money was set to run out, meaning most court-appointed lawyers won’t get paid for at least three months.

The commission will meet again to determine whether payments can resume.

Court-appointed lawyers represent poor criminal defendants in cases that can’t be handled by public defenders and in a type of appeal known as post-conviction relief. They often are appointed in child abuse and neglect cases in family court.

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Halt in pay for indigent work riles S.C. lawyers