CALHOUN COUNTY, S.C. — There is free legal help for people in Calhoun County including Power of Attorney and Simple Will services. According to the director of the pro bono program at the USC School of Law, Pamela Robinson, having a will could typically cost hundreds of dollars, but having one is important.
“It isn’t that just yes, if you’ve got lots of income and you’ve got lots of property and you’ve got lots of things of monetary value. But it is also about making sure the things that are sentimental to you get distributed to the people that you want to have them," said Robinson.
According to the Calhoun County Delinquent Tax Office, sometimes property that goes unaccounted for in a will may fall behind on taxes and become delinquent. This means if taxes for that property aren't paid off by March of the following year, it could get auctioned off to the public.
“It’s a sad situation because these people work so hard for their property but a lot of times the people here in Calhoun County they have family that’s out of state and a lot of them don’t know about property that their family members have," said Robinson.
Green says since 2016, she has bidded out about 45 deeds and properties that don't receive bids go to the forfeited land commission.
“I try to stress to people, when your family members die, probate your estate, make sure you change the addresses because we have no way of notifying if you don’t keep the addresses updated," said Green.
Green explains, probating is the first step in the legal process of distributing property after someone dies. If the will does not name someone responsible for administering the estate, then that is decided by South Carolina State Law.
The free legal services are being offered through the Palmetto Leader, a mobile law office presented by volunteer attorneys from the USC School of Law. It's Friday at the Calhoun County Council on Aging from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
To book an appointment, call 803-874-1270, option 4.