Avoiding Living Trust Scams: A Quick Guide for Advocates
(Separate Website)
Dishonest living trust salespeople prey on seniors' fears that after their deaths, their life savings and assets will be stolen by the government or by predatory probate attorneys. These salespeople use high-pressure tactics and deceptive claims to coerce vulnerable seniors into buying a product that many of them don't need. Seniors are bombarded with advertisements, phone calls, and pitches from door-to-door salespeople insisting that living trusts work best for everyone. This may be true for some. For others, buying a living trust is simply a waste of limited resources.
By: National Consumer Law Center
Charity Navigator - Your Guide to Intelligent Giving
(Separate Website)
Charity Navigator works to guide intelligent giving. We help charitable givers make intelligent giving decisions by providing information on over thirty-two hundred charities and by evaluating the financial health of each of these charities. We ensure our evaluations are widely used by making them easy to understand and freely available to the public. By guiding intelligent giving, we aim to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace, in which givers and the charities they support work in tandem to overcome our nation's most persistent challenges.
By: Charity Navigator
Elder Law
(Separate Website)
Senior citizens must deal with many legal issues. In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the need to address these issues, and there is now an area of practice known as elder law. Elder law is specifically designed to address the particular concerns of older citizens. By looking at the whole picture, before a crisis occurs, a plan can be developed to carry out your wishes to the greatest extent possible. PDF document (may load slowly).
By: South Carolina Bar Association
Elder Law - Online Research Resources
(Separate Website)
PDF document (may load slowly).
By: South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center
How to Obtain a Certified Copy of a Death Certificate
(Separate Website)
By: SC Department of Health and Environmental Control
Power of Attorney Spanish Power of Attorney Information
By: South Carolina Legal Services - Greenville
Power of Attorney Power Point_Spanish Power Point in Spanish on Power of Attorney
By: South Carolina Legal Services - Greenville
Power of Attorney PowerPoint in Spanish
By: South Carolina Legal Services - Greenville
Power of Attorney PowerPoint_Spanish
Power of attorney power point in spanish
By: South Carolina Legal Services - Greenville
Taxes at Death
(Separate Website)
Lawline FAQ: When a South Carolina resident dies, the estate may have taxes deducted from its value before distribution to beneficiaries. These may include federal estate taxes, South Carolina estate taxes, death taxes in other states or nations, and federal and state income taxes. The size of the estate or the amount of income usually determines what taxes must be paid.
By: South Carolina Bar Association
Tips for Giving Wisely
(Separate Website)
Tax exempt organizations are the fastest growing sector in the U. S. economy. Over 60,000 new charities are created each year. There are over 1.6 million nonprofit organizations, and the competition for funds has become intense. As charities face inflation, government budget cuts and an increasing public demand for services, they ask you for more donations. Increasing numbers of charities use high-tech fundraising techniques. Mailboxes overflow with fund-raising appeals. Phone calls pour in from high-pressure solicitors. All this can leave you confused about which charities are most deserving of your contributions. Most charities are honest and accountable to their donors. Unfortunately, a few are not. The American Institute of Philanthropy suggests the following pointers to help you give more effectively.
By: American Institute of Philanthropy
Tips for Seniors on Living Trusts
(Separate Website)
Many seniors worry about what will happen to their property after they pass away. This is a very important decision. Unfortunately, it can also be very confusing. One of the most critical choices you will face is whether to get a living trust, will, or both. There are many unscrupulous companies that will try to convince you that a living trust is the best way to go. This may be true for some. But for many, a living trust will simply be a waste of precious resources. This fact sheet will give you basic information about living trusts and wills, and describes some of the most common scams.
By: National Consumer Law Center
Warning: Trust Kits May Be Hazardous to Your Finances
(Separate Website)
Buying a "trust kit" may be a significant financial mistake that can interrupt your life and the lives of those you love. Estate planning is complicated. Be sure your estate plan suits YOUR needs. PDF document (may load slowly).
By: South Carolina Bar Association
Why You Need a Will
(Separate Website)
Lawline FAQ: You need a will in order to put your wishes into effect at your death. Without a will, your property and your surviving family's affairs will be governed by the choices reflected in the statute law of the state of South Carolina. Those choices may not be your choices.
By: South Carolina Bar Association
Wills and the Law
(Separate Website)
Why do you need a will, and how will having a will (or not) impact those you love after you are gone? PDF document (may load slowly).
By: South Carolina Bar Association
Adobe Acrobat Reader required. (If you are using a screen reader that does not support PDF format, copy the PDF link, and use the Access Adobe online form to convert this file to HMTL text.)
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