VALDOSTA — How many executors can one have to oversee their Last Will and Testament? Does a witness to a will have a requirement to know what’s in the will before they sign? And is there any government help available for homeowners in a medical crisis who are trying to avoid foreclosure?

These and many more questions were fielded by attorneys, insurance agents and cooperative extension specialists during the Housing Education and Long Term Planning Workshop held at the Rainwater Conference Center on July 10.

The seminars, which ran from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., were sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency and Fort Valley State University Cooperative Extension Program.

The Valdosta event was the third staged in the state by the sponsors and was as successful as the first two, in Peach and Hancock counties, according to Keishon J. Thomas, extension housing specialist at Fort Valley State’s Cooperative Extension office.

So successful, in fact, that Thomas pledged to continue pursuit of more grant money to pay for staging more of the useful seminars in rural areas across Georgia.

“Residents in rural counties don’t have access to this kind of information,” Thomas said. “When you tell people they can get free legal advice on such important matters, they will come out. I am ecstatic about the turnout in Valdosta today. The initial feedback from attendees confirms how helpful this is, and that is our goal. No one enjoys talking about their ultimate demise, but people know that with good planning ahead of time, they can avoid stressful emergency situations.”

The well-structured event was bolstered by free packets loaded with information that were passed to attendees. The packets and accompanying talks covered subjects ranging from managing estates, wills, insurance as a long-term resource, homeownership and foreclosure prevention, how to protect assets in Medicaid recovery, reverse mortgages and more.

Valdosta City Councilman Willie Head and Lowndes County Commissioner Edgar Roberts welcomed the event’s more than 100 attendees and stuck around to take notes of their own on the important material.

Attendees were mostly older folks, many of who offered up common questions faced when planning the disbursement of estates and property to loved ones in the inevitable event of their passing.

As a facilitator passed a microphone to the answer seekers, Karla Walker, an attorney with the law firm of Copeland, Haughabrook and Walker responded with straight forward, legalese-free responses.

“You can have three executors (to oversee a will). You can choose three of your children,” Walker answered one questioner. “I always advise that you have more than one executor in case one dies.”

Another question addressed whether a witness to a will should or is required to know the contents of the will before singing the will.

Anything but, Walker said. Witnesses do not and should not be allowed to see the contents of a personal will. They are only signing a will as a witness that the person making the will is of sound mind to do so, Walker said.

“I often have support staff in my office witness a will because often times family members can’t get off work during the day to make it down to the office to sign as a witness,” Walker explained.

And if you out-live the witnesses who signed your will, you would best avoid any potential challenge in probate by getting the will updated with new witnesses, a simple procedure, Walker said.

Witnesses to wills in Georgia can be as young as 14 by law, but should be at least 18 by common sense, she said.

Executors are supposed to act in the best interests of the estate, so a family should not assign “the child who spends money freely” or could have ulterior motives as the executor, Walker noted.

“The executor cannot say ‘I am going to sell the house to a cousin for $20,000’ when the house is worth $100,000,’” Walker said. “You want to be sure you choose someone who is ethical and someone who has the heart and the integrity to make sure your wishes are carried out. Often times a family will choose someone outside the family to act as executor to avoid such situations.”

Also, attorneys should not be meddling in the execution of a will without consent from the executor, and family members should pay attention while the estate is administered by the executor. Normally, that’s not a problem, Walker said.

“Your average executor is going to try to manage the estate as thoroughly as they can because, as you can imagine, the executor may be dealing with any number of issues with other family members,” Walker said.

A question about using legal forms available through unofficial channels like local stores prompted this advice: “Yes you can go to Office Max or Office Depot and get the forms in some format, but you have to make sure those forms comply with Georgia state law. And make sure you don’t have the only copy of a will. You can place one in your attorney’s office, with another family member or in a safety deposit box,” Walker said.

So what if the person dies and the bank won’t allow entry to the deposit box?

“I know banks will seal a safety deposit box upon notification that the owner has passed away, but the bank will allow retrieval of the will from the box,” a woman in the audience offered.

As for foreclosure prevention, Evette D. Mills, rural development area specialist with the USDA, told the group of several programs the USDA offers qualifying applicants. The local USDA office off East U.S. 84 near the fairgrounds by Southland Church serves a 25 county area that includes Lowndes County.

“We have a lot of programs that conventional lenders can’t or don’t offer you,” Mills said. “Let’s say you have a medical emergency. We can impose a moratorium on your (federal government supplied) mortgage, and stop your mortgage payments for up to two years while you work through your situation.”

The mortgage is not extended, except that how ever many months were exempted from a monthly due payment would be tacked on at the end of the amortization schedule so full payment is obtained, without penalty, Mills said.

“If you have such a loan and find yourself in that situation, all we ask is that you do not file bankruptcy, because we have programs designed to help you keep your home and still take care of your mortgage,” Mills said.

Seniors 62 and older in Lowndes and surrounding counties can qualify for a 504 grant to pay for any home improvements that maintain the home in a safe and sanitary living condition, Mills explained.

But until the federal maximum population requirements are modified, those grants can’t be awarded to residents who live in the city limits of Valdosta because Valdosta has reached metropolitan service area levels, Mills said.

“We are working with HUD to amend those requirements,” she said.

The local USDA office will be scheduling a work session on its programs in the very near future. For more information, contact the office at 229-382-0273. Mills is at extension 108.