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ASE: 20
BACKGROUND
· Shoeless Joe Jackson, one of the greatest baseball players in the early 1900s, was involved in the
infamous "Black Sox" scandal when he, along with seven other players, was accused of "throwing"
the 1919 World Series as they allegedly accepted money to intentionally lose the series.
· Shoeless Joe died in 1951 from a heart attack, and in his Last Will and Testament, he left all of
his property to his wife, Katie, who upon her death, in turn, left all of her possessions to two
charities: the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society.
· The charities are suing the County of Greenville to release Jackson's Will arguing that the Will was
the personal property of Katie Jackson when she died, and as the bene ciaries of that Will, the
charities should take possession for resale to the highest bidder.
· The County of Greenville argues that once Shoeless Joe's Will was led in the probate court, it
became a public document that was not the personal property of his bene ciary.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
You Be the Judge!
You Be the Judge!
American Heart Association v. County of
Greenville
Is a Will "Probate Property"?
What is a Last Will & Testament?
A last will and testament is a legal declaration
by which a person names one or more
persons to manage his or her estate, called an
executor, and provides for the transfer of his
or her property at death to his bene ciaries.
What is Probate?
Probate is the process of proving the validity
of a will and thereafter administering
the estate of the decedent (dead person)
according to the terms of the will. The rst
step is to le the purported will with the
appropriate court located in the city/town
or county where the deceased person lived.
Accompanying the will, the attorney will le
a petition to have the court approve the will
and appoint the executor named in the will. If
the court determines the will is valid, the court
then "admits" the will to probate and follows
its instructions.
What is an Executor?
An executor is the person named by the
decedent who is in charge of gathering
the decedent's personal and real property
(probate property), paying o any debts of
the estate, and distributing the remaining
money to bene ciaries of the will.
What is Probate Property/Estate?
Probate property or probate estate includes,
with certain exceptions, a person's personal
and real property, i.e., house or land at the
time of his or her death.
What is a Public Document?
A public document includes all papers or
other documentary materials, regardless of
physical form or characteristics, which are
prepared, owned, used, or in the possession of
a public body.
For Evaluation Purposes Only