156
C
ASE: 20
You Be the Judge!
You Be the Judge!
Sources
The case brie ng above contains excerpts and direct extractions from the sources noted
below that have been combined with the author's own expert legal input. The case has
been condensed and formatted from its original content for purposes of this workbook.
American Heart Association v. County of Greenville, 331 S.C. 498, 489 S.E.2d 921 (S.C. 1997).
Supreme Court of South Carolina
September 2, 1997. Opinion written by the Honorable Justice Ernest A. Finney, Jr.
Shoeless Joe's Will, Valuable Name On It Not For Sale, Court Says
September 3, 1997. Published by the Charlotte Observer.
401(k) plans, pensions,
life insurance, and
property in trust are
examples of non-probate
property.
Non-probate property
can be distributed
automatically to the
deceased individuals
benefi ciaries.
an attorney for one of the charities noticed a newspaper article about
Jackson's signature selling for $23,100 at a Sotheby's auction--the
second-highest amount ever paid for a signature not attached to a
document. Only six Jackson signatures were known to exist, as Shoe-
less Joe was illiterate and usually refused to sign baseballs for his fans.
e charities argued that Shoeless Joe Jackson's Will was his wife's
personal property since individuals may, during their lifetime, own,
possess, use, enjoy, and dispose of their Will anyway they see t and,
upon death, the Will becomes part of one's estate passing directly to
the bene ciaries. e County argued that the Will was a public docu-
ment and was the property of the State of South Carolina. e County
stated that the records retention policy of the State of South Carolina
provided for the permanent retention of original documents from
decedents' estates.
Since the lawsuit was led, several people were interested in pay-
ing more than $100,000 for the Will!
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