ANGIE KNIGHT WITH GSLG CHECKS IN 5/20/26

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Time to drop the gavel. It's legal talk with Angie Knight from the Grand Strand Law Group on the Liz Callaway Show next summer. Talk for the entire Grand Strand.

SPEAKER_00 0:11

Angie's like, I want my money back.

SPEAKER_02 0:14

What did I walk into?

SPEAKER_01 0:16

For the record, I always have my clothes on in the radio stations.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

Just for the record, Your Honor.

SPEAKER_02 0:26

Want to see my gavel?

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Yeah, exactly. All right. Angie Knight of the Grand Strand Law Group. You are taking texters who want to text in about real estate law, estate planning, probate, business law, personal injury law, cohabitation agreements, prenuptial, postnuptial, title insurance protection, and uh anything else along those lines. Text in on the budget blinds text line. Your questions, concerns, 843-798-talk 798-8255.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

Yes, I would love to do a rapid fire today. Let's get it done. Let's throw some questions on that text line.

SPEAKER_00 1:03

All right. Well, I have a question for you because it is graduation season and a lot of kids are turning 18. We talk about this a couple of times a year. What are the nightmarish stories that you've seen come your way about why parents will suddenly say, Oh my gosh, I should have put this power of attorney in place?

SPEAKER_01 1:22

Yes. So obviously going to college, right? You go to college and yeah, you're probably paying, but guess what? You don't have the ability to call the the what do they call it? First star's office. Yeah. You don't have the ability to call them and make sure that everything's taken care of and you're or why this or why that. So, you know, just not having that ability to ask about the bill, you know, is is reason number one. That's an easy one, right? Um, but here's your worst case scenarios, guys. And and and I hate this part of my job. I'm I'm often the doom and gloom, right? But, you know, your child, um, they're in college, God forbid there's an accident, right? Um, we need to have all of their documents in place already, uh, because if there was an accident, if there was a bad accident and something, they were unable to return to school or even take care of themselves, right? You and your spouse, if you're still married, have the same authority to make decisions for that person, but they're an adult now, right? Once they're an adult, you have no authority to deal with their banking, deal with their school, r you know, take them out of school if that was what was necessary. Um, and then God forbid you guys are divorced, right? Then we really have a conflict as to who's gonna step up. Um, and neither of you have the authority. So if we do a power of attorney, right, then we can say this is the person who's going to take care of the finances and the health care decisions for this child if something were to happen after they're 18. Um, you know, it's it's just there's so many reasons to get this done at the age of 18, guys. A durable power of attorney and a healthcare power of attorney. And I even go so far as to say, going to have them do a will. And this is the doom and gloom I was talking about, right? If they were in an accident, if they passed away, right? It may have been an accident that was not their fault, and there may be an a lawsuit that needs to happen. And when that happens, then funds are paid to the estate, okay? Um, and to the parents, and and and but but also to the estate, and then they need a will to deal with that money that's in the estate now.

SPEAKER_00 3:25

Wow. So never thought about that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:28

Yeah. And you know, there's all kinds of dynamics in families out there, but you know, one child may say, No, if if if if I were to pass away, I don't want my this parent to get anything because maybe they didn't raise me. Right? Maybe they were not in that child's life. Yeah. But if you don't have a will, then that parent who was never in that child's life is going to get a portion of that settlement.

SPEAKER_00 3:50

Right? And so an 18-year-old themselves can initiate this.

SPEAKER_01 3:53

Yes, an 18-year-old can go out there and do their own, come see me and do their own durable power of attorney health care and will.

SPEAKER_00 4:00

Because just because of that reason, they'd be like, you know what, my mom and dad, they you know, and just the way the the the law falls, they would be the next of kin.

SPEAKER_01 4:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:10

And so um I think we saw that actually with that situation down in Charleston where the bride died on the back of that golf truck, and you had the estranged parents battling over the the lawsuit um proceeds. And it gets ugly because you had a husband whose marriage certificate wasn't officially filed yet. Right. It was just you know signed. Exactly. You know, and you had um uh an estranged mom that was three sheets to the wind, and then you had a a grieving father as well, and they were all three were battling separately.

SPEAKER_01 4:46

Yes. And that's the situation that can happen in these cases. And in this case, like you mentioned, they had just gotten married, right? So this is your warning, folks, if you're out there with the with the wedding in in place and ready to go. Maybe we need to talk before the wedding, right? We may need to get that prenup, right? We may need to um go ahead and do a will. You don't have to be married to the person to decide you no matter what, you want to leave everything to that person. You know? So you don't have to wait until after you're married to get a new will.

SPEAKER_00 5:15

Mm-hmm. So interesting. Yeah, I never really thought about that actually, you know, about getting uh, you know, that uh that whole thinking about it, especially if you have a blended family and you have your own inheritance and you're like, okay, before we get married. But that's just it though, Liz Liz.

SPEAKER_01 5:34

You said your own inheritance, even if you don't have anything, right? If these accidents happen, the money's gonna go to the estate. And so we've got to decide. Yeah. Uh if you did have something, who would you want to get it?

unknown 5:48

Huh.

SPEAKER_01 5:49

A lot to think about.

SPEAKER_00 5:51

The budget blinds text line is open. Let's do rapid fire. If you have a topic you want to throw out, um, you know, she might want to uh pick it up. Uh 843-798-talk 798-8255. Anything yet? All right, real estate law.

SPEAKER_02 6:06

Somebody did say they stopped in the office and had a very pleasant experience, so thank you for that.

SPEAKER_00 6:10

Love that. Got the other Angela. Oh, nice. Okay. So I wanted to ask you like real estate. Um, there's a lot with real estate. Uh the laws are always changing, like the way things realtors handle. Oh, well, now it's like this, and now it's like that. Um, how is that how can a person who's thinking about selling their home and buying their home, uh buying a new home, uh is g uh should approach this whole process because laws have changed since you since since you last bought your home.

SPEAKER_01 6:51

Right, right. Things are different now. The biggest thing that that some folks out there who are buying and selling or starting thinking about buying and selling still don't understand is that realtors are now required by law to get you to sign an agreement with them before they can even show you a house.

unknown 7:07

Right?

SPEAKER_01 7:08

So when a realtor says, Oh, you have to sign up first, they're not lying, guys. It's the truth. You have to sign an agreement with them. Now, what that agreement says, there's some standard templates, right? But there are options and there you have there's fill in the blanks, right? So maybe you want to hire them only for a shorter amount of time than what they're asking. Those are where the negotiation points. You cannot expect a realtor these days to show you a home, right, without having an agreement signed in place. So that's I did not know that. Yes, you have to have something on paper, you have to have the that they represent you on paper now. Um and you have to have an agreement as that from builders' homes too? As yeah, as to what you're gonna pay them for commission. Right? So you have to make this decision up front before you even see a house that you might want to buy. Any house, maybe a house that you don't want to buy, but before you even see a house, you're gonna sign an agreement that says they're your realtor and you're gonna pay them X percent. Now that's from the buyer's perspective. Now, used to, this was never an issue because we all knew that sellers would end up paying the buyer's agent's commission. Right?

SPEAKER_00 8:14

So the full commission.

SPEAKER_01 8:15

Yes. So the seller would end up paying, let's use the normal numbers, right? A six percent commission. That six percent would be split typically three and three, right? For for the agents. It doesn't happen that way anymore, guys. The buyer is signing up to pay their agent a certain percent, regardless of whether the seller will pay any portion of it at all. So you are prom and and you know, uh there's a lot of opinions about the out there about this, and I don't know, I guess my view is split.

SPEAKER_00 8:46

Um But it your opinions don't even matter. It doesn't matter. The law is the law, the law is the law. And you need to understand what how that works.

SPEAKER_01 8:54

Yes, and so if you are a buyer and you hire an agent and you say, I'm gonna pay you three percent of the purchase price of whatever house I choose to buy, right? And then you go and you find a the perfect house and you ask the seller, right? In in the contract, you have to say, We're asking the seller to pay two percent of the three percent I'm paying my buyer's agent. Maybe that's maybe that's what your offer is, right? And if they say no, I'm not paying any of it, but you still really want that house, well then guess what? You know, if you sign a contract saying that uh that they're not paying any towards the buyer's agent's commission, then that means you're paying it all. Right. So you just you just gotta know what you're signing again. And it's it's not like it used to be, it's different. And I know uh all the agents out there, they're really good agents and they're explaining this. Just don't don't think that they're trying to pull it over you on you.

SPEAKER_00 9:46

They keep changing the law so you can understand how people feel. Oh yeah. And they are already mad that they have to hire you know, a a realtor, they have to have an attorney. They have to legally they have to have an attorney. In some places, they don't have to have an attorney. I don't know about that. Some states. Really? Do you know which states? You can do for sale by owner and just do a transactional thing with the realtor.

SPEAKER_01 10:12

In South Carolina, even if you have for sale by owner and you're not using a realtor, you still have to have an insurance. You have to have an attorney. It's the law. Yeah. Yeah. Um but in some states it's title companies, which is sort of the same thing.

SPEAKER_00 10:24

But yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:25

Um so anyway.

SPEAKER_00 10:26

Oh, yeah. For example, in Florida, because I'm helping my son with finding a place, it's like you don't have to have an attorney.

SPEAKER_01 10:34

You have to have a title company to do.

SPEAKER_00 10:36

But that title company is doing all the same things an attorney does here. Well, it turned out that a title company is an attorney. Yeah, yeah. Okay. So that's what the attorneys have become. But you don't need a you don't need a real estate attorney, quote unquote, in Florida. Right.

SPEAKER_01 10:52

And in Louisiana, too, you can do a title company, but my friend Paul, he owns he owns the title company. We went to law school together. So they are attorneys. It's just a title company. Right. So they're doing the same thing. Title companies in other states are do the same things.

SPEAKER_00 11:04

But that's why people are so confused because they move here and it's like, wait a minute, this is not what I'm used to. Yes. All right, let's see if we have any questions on the budget blinds text line. And not only that, but uh not only real estate, but estate planning, probate, business law, personal injury law.

SPEAKER_02 11:21

Yes. Uh I remarried and my husband adopted my children. He also has a biological son. He has a will leaving everything to that son. Does that mean me and my children are not entitled to anything if he passes?

SPEAKER_01 11:33

Um, yes. Well, so to speak. Um depending upon when he did that will, uh, you may be the as the spouse, you may be entitled to one third. Um, and then the kids are may since they've been adopted, they may be entitled to something as well under the code, but but you're gonna have to fight for that and you're gonna have to file actions to get those percentages. Um so if he has a will that says everything goes to his son, then you're up for some work to get your share. And and also it it's very legal centric in that it depends on when did he do that will, right?

SPEAKER_00 12:08

Or how the house is written in the deed, right? Right, or how the house is owned. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:13

That's a big difference.

SPEAKER_00 12:15

Did you move into his house and not change anything?

SPEAKER_01 12:17

There's a lot of things we got to look at for that. So she definitely needs to come see us.

unknown 12:21

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 12:22

All right, here we go. Another one. Uh this person said, What about open houses? And I said, Well, what do you mean? And they said, Okay, if you want to go view a home, do you have to sign a contract as soon as you walk in with the uh the individual there? The listing agent. Yeah, the listing agent.

SPEAKER_01 12:36

No, if you're just showing up at an open house, right, you can certainly walk through, right? But it at that point, after you've walked through the home, if you want to make an offer, you know, at the on that home at that point, then you're gonna need to sign an an agreement.

SPEAKER_00 12:52

That's why I was asking about builders, because oftentimes you go through the model. You can walk through the models and the open houses all you want by yourself. A lot of people don't know that they should hire an attorney uh not attorney, but yes, an attorney, of course, but a realtor to deal with a builder, not directly deal with the builder when you're looking at model homes because they're looking out for themselves.

SPEAKER_01 13:15

Absolutely, guys. I mean, I'm a big fan of real estate agents, right? Yeah, I love my real estate agents because they do so much work, right, on your behalf that you don't even realize is gonna have to be done. So many decisions are gonna have to be made. They're they're gonna have to help you write that contract. And I'll be honest, the contracts are not as simple as they used to be. No. They're not. It's a little crazy. It is complicated.

SPEAKER_02 13:36

One last one, rapid fire. Is it a good idea to have one of the children on the parents' bank accounts before they pass away to distribute money? I think you've answered this before.

SPEAKER_01 13:45

No, we I don't want any of the kids, especially if there's more than one kid, on a bank account as a joint owner because that means that money belongs to that kid only. They do not have to distribute it to their siblings. You want somebody have to have a power of attorney. One of your kids should have a power of attorney, and then they can assist with those funds while you're living, and then when you pass away, the personal representative takes care of it.

SPEAKER_02 14:06

I looked it up, by the way, Angie, and there are a few states that an attorney is not legally mandated. California, Texas, Florida, Arizona, Ohio, Nevada.

SPEAKER_01 14:16

But they're all title company states.

SPEAKER_02 14:18

They do say that, yeah, title company. And in many cases, after the title company looks at it, you still have to have an attorney look at it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:24

Well, that's what they say. Do you want it? You can you are entitled to have it an attorney look at the title. Do you recommend that? Or you think you're sufficient in those states?

SPEAKER_01 14:36

Uh you know, here's the thing, right? Attorneys, this is why South Carolina, in my opinion, has an is an attorney state. It's because we are required by law and overseen by our ethics committee, right? By malpractice situations and insurance, right? We have all these things and safeguards in place so that if we make a mistake, you can still be protected. Title companies, for instance, we have trust accounts, right? Title companies don't have trust accounts. They can take your money and make interest off of it, right?

SPEAKER_00 15:03

So it's not in an escrow, non-consumer. It's not in an escrow.

SPEAKER_01 15:06

So we are all we are legally um or we lose our license, right? Title companies don't have that situation.

SPEAKER_00 15:12

So you need to protect yourself, protect yourself, especially with your largest investment absolutely. That's so stressful as it is. You don't need any uh anything going wrong. Anything else? Last minute? All right. If anybody else wants to uh ask a question of Angie Knight or her team at the Grand Strand Law Group, you can go to their website and get their phone number, Grand Strandlaw Group.com. Call 843-492-5422. They have offices in the city of Myrtle Beach uh on Broadway, and they also have um North Myrtle Beach. They have one on Highway 17, and in Law's, they have one on Main Street. Yes. All right, Angie Knight of the Grand Strand Law Group. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. Have a great week.