Was Shirley Ann Gerber entitled to any inhertance from Douglas
Frederick Heaton Senior after his death on February 24, 2004? Mr.
Douglas F. Heaton resided in Reevesville, Dorchester County, South
Carolina

What was their relationship?

When was Shirley born?

Did Douglas leave a valid Will?

Did he have a spouse, any children, etc.

I am Shirley Gerber. I was Douglas Fredericks fiancee. No, he was not
married. His divorce was final in October of 2003. However, at his
time of death I was not there. His ex-wife is very controlling and
worried about inheritance. I was not. Now it is curiosity. I also put
in a question to see if while he was away for a short period of time,
if he married his ex-wife again. Her name is Stephanie Heaton. So,
there are two different questions posted. It said in the obituary that
he was survived by his "wife" Stephanie Heaton. Yes, he had two
children. Both of age. He had told me what he was leaving me in his
will. This is not a matter of greed on my part. I want to know if
justice was done and if the obituary was correct that he indeed
remarried his ex-.

Hi, Shirley

I wouldn't worry about the Obituary Notice ... An announcement is not
necessarily going to show the correct details.

The important question is did Douglas leave a valid Will?

And that is not something that can be determined remotely.

You will find the answer in Dorchester County.

But I wouldn't know where.

Good Luck!

In the Uk anyone can get a copy of a will, once it has gone for
probate. Surely there is a similar system in the USA.  Ask a laywer.
In addition, you might ask for an appointment with your late fiance's
lawyer, who should be in a position to tell you whether the will
mentioned you.
I'm sorry about your loss.
Amber

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 6, 2004

DEAR SHIRLEY:

I have a genealogical researcher friend who lives in South Carolina
who will look into this for you and I will get back to you on
approximately Oct. 16 or earlier with the results.  Exactly what was
it that you were left in the will?

Don't pay much attention to the fact that the obit shows a "wife". 
Sometimes, to avoid family embarrassment, the ex-wife is shown as wife
just for appearances sake when it may not actually be the truth.  It
is possible that the will has been filed and is now being probated,
and it is also possible that the executor of the will may not know
your mailing address and therefore might not know how to contact you. 
It is also possible that the family members may be deliberately
withholding the will, in which case you will need to think about
whether you would want to or need to hire an attorney to go to court
on your behalf to ask the judge to order the family to produce the
will so that you can get what you were left.

SINCERELY
4KEITH (I'm NOT a GOOGLE Researcher)
Accountant/Genealogical Researcher

Keith, Before Doug's death I was to inherit some land, his house, his
animals, and what ever came with it. I was to keep the land in his
"family name". In other words, I was not to sell it to someone else
unless it was in his family. I don't associate with any one in his
family. No, they didn't know where I lived. His brother Jerry Heaton
was the Executor of his Will. Doug's brothers and sisters really did
not like "outsiders" and since I came from Ca. that made me one. Doug
was a very private man. Before he died he was in the hospital and I
was "asked" to leave the house. I have no idea if Doug changed his
will or not. I do not feel comfortable going to his lawyer and would
never think of going to his family. I know his son and possibly his
ex-wife is living there now and certainly is not taking care of the
place. I thought perhaps that if I went to Dorcester County that I
might find out some information regarding if he married for the 3rd
time his ex- and changed his will although I would see no reason why
for this. I did have limited contact with Doug before I moved. I knew
he still loved me. But, family such as his can be very powerful at
times. This is all I know Keith. Thank you for your interest and I do
hope you or your friend can find something out for me. Sincerely, Ann

10-14-2004  (THURSDAY)

DEAR SHIRLEY:

I have checked with the Dorchester County Probate Court and it does
look as if the will has been filed.  I am still waiting to receive
copies from the file but I wanted to post this message to advise you
to also contact the attorney who helped with the research on this.

Visit the website www.dorchesterprobate.com and you will see a link on
the left hand side of the page that says "ESTATE PLANNING & PROBATE
LAW SPECIALISTS"--click on that wording and it will show a page that
says "DORCHESTER LIST OF ATTORNEYS".  Go down to the 11th attorney on
the list and you will see name/address for an attorney on 131 E.
Richardson Av and his e-mail address is listed.  Send him an e-mail
and you can ask him to get the copy of the page from the courthouse
that shows "Heirs and Devisees" and it is that page that will show
whether or not your name and address is listed as a beneficiary.  I'm
sure he will help you in any way that he can.

Do you happen to know the name of the attorney who may have helped Mr.
Douglas Heaton Sr. draft his will?  In the rare event that the will
submitted to the court may not be the correct one, it would help with
the research if you know the name of the attorney who drafted the
original will and this is information you will want to provide to the
attorney if you know.

Best of luck to you and I do hope that this has a good outcome for you.

SINCERELY,
4KEITH (I'm NOT a GOOGLE Researcher)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------