European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 21, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 16 the stars and stripes Friday March 21,1986 consumer Vatch where there s there s a Way will. By Mary Neth staff writer is a will necessary seven out of 10americans Don t seem to think so. At least Theydon t have them. They Are among distinguished company. Presidents Lincoln Andrew Johnson Grant and Garfield each died without one. Certainly no one wants to think of his or her demise. Nevertheless if you die without a will intestate you could be doing a great disservice to your survivors. A probate court will divvy up your estate according to your state Laws but perhaps not according to what you would have desired. Generally Young members of the military who have no dependents Don t need wills says Jerry shiels Legal assistance attorney in Kaiserslautern. Every state has provisions that create a will for you. If you Are single and have no dependents to support you probably Don t care what happens to your estate and the state will should be  the problems arise he Points out when a family is involved. By Law one third to one half of the estate goes to the spouse outright and two thirds or one half to the children. The childrens assets Are Frozen until they come of age. Until then Only a court can authorize expenditure of the funds and then Only under specified circumstances. So practically speaking shiels Points out without a will you tie up half to a third of your estate and prevent your spouse from Access to it to rear the children. Clearly this would not be your  it is possible to file a simple will without seeing an attorney. Some states have approved a simplified form that can be picked up at local stationery shops. According to shiels there is also a movement afoot to create a unified will that would be applicable across the United states and effective anywhere you might be. The problem of course is that these wills Are geared to the very simplest situations. It is assumed that if you Are married that you want everything to go to your spouse or if something happens to your spouse to your children. He recommends having your Legal assistance officer draw up your will. At the same time he can advise you in handling your assets and investments. When i was practising Back in los Angeles we used to recommend that a person draft his or her will before coming to us. It saved time and Money. With military Legal assistance offices that in t really necessary. It is important though to pick up a questionnaire from us. Most people come in without really understanding what the will process is. They Don t know what information they need or exactly what they want to do. The questionnaire identifies the Basic information  who is to be appointed As a personal representative for example is. Very important. Generally if the wife Dies the husband is automatically appointed and vice versa. Shiels notes however that sometimes there May be reason to want someone else. The surviving husband or wife May be very ill or not capable of handling finances. There could be a dozen reasons Why you might want to see someone else  the guardianship clause also is very critical he says. Let s say you Are divorced. You have custody of the children. There is a great Deal of animosity Between the two of you. You Are raising the children As catholics your sex is protestant. If something happens to you those children Are automatically going to go to your former partner and no one can fight  shiels says this can be challenged by designating someone else As the guardian and giving them the right to use the Money to go to court if necessary. Though you can make out a will on your own it can be risky warns shiels. If it does not meet your state s requirements it can be considered invalid. If you write something into the will that is prohibited by Law the entire document could be invalidated. Military Legal assistance offices can help you make out a will that will conform to your Home state Law. Not having such a will has led to Messy Legal Battles and tied up funds. Shiels mentioned the Case of a Man who had been in Europe for Many years. His estate is now the subject of a court Case. The germans Are saying that since he lived Here for 15 years they should collect taxes on his estate. The americans Are saying hey what about us another no will Case was even More disastrous. A retired civilian with a German wife died leaving significant property in Germany. If the wife had been designated As his personal representative she could have processed the estate. She was not so the German court proceeded to ask All heirs which included two Sisters in the United states to concur on who should be named. One of the Sisters a woman in her 80s, even though promised part of the estate refuses to sign. She is suspicious and no one can reason with her. That was three years ago says shiels. To this Day the estate is in limbo. The insurance policies Etc. Have never been paid. Nothing can be  shiels says that three or four times a month lawyers Are called to the american Hospital to prepare last minute wills. Either there has been a severe Accident or someone is going in and out of commas or is being prepared for a medevac Back to the states. We have to go in on an emergency basis and try to talk to these  it is not a pleasent assignment. Poison prevention a message that needs repeating by Kate Callen United press International t thousands of Young lives have Bee saved since National Poison prevention week started 25 years ago but an expert warns americans against becoming complacent and letting up their guard. The annual Poison prevention Campaign which takes place at this time each year is a Success Story in terms of reduced deaths reports Ken Giles of the Poison prevention week Council. However the number of injuries and near misses is so High that we re Lucky we Haven t seen these deaths climb  we be seen a decline in deaths but we still have a huge population at risk and in a Way we be become complacent he said. In 1962, when Congress mandated the National Observance to combat what was viewed As a major Public health Challenge approximately 450 children under 5.died from accidental poisoning . By 1983, the death toll had dropped to 55 in the United states but even with the decline in deaths More than 37,000 ingestion a and 500,000 exposures in children under 5 were reported last year to the food and drug administration the half million near misses usually involved cases in which parents found youngsters with open containers of household chemicals but no sign of actual ingestion  considering the Large number of close Calls we have to keep presenting the prevention message he emphasizes especially for new parents who Are not yet aware of the need for child safety and grandparents who Only see youngsters occasionally. The Poison prevention week Council started in 1962 As a coalition of 25 organizations and now includes 34 government agencies Trade associations and consumer groups. It offers these common sense rules for households with Young children 1. Keep medicines and household chemicals out of reach of children at All times even when you re using them Giles advises. In Many cases parents put a substance Down for a minute to answer the Doorbell or Telephone and return to find a child holding the open Container. 2. Use child resistant closures and safety Caps even if they seem a nuisance we know they re hard to open but they re supposed to be . 3. Label All drugs and household chemicals and store them in their original containers. Grandparents who place medication on open trays for easy Access should put All drugs away before a visit from grandchildren. If a child has or May have ingested a toxic substance p Arents should Call a Poison control Center at once. Every Telephone directory displays the number of the local Center inside its front cover  and parents of Small children should keep the number by the Telephone. Over the years a myriad of anecdotal recommendations some of which Are incorrect have done More harm than Good in some cases he reports. He urges that parents take no action until first checking with a Poison control Center if and Only if the Center instructs that vomiting be induced syrup of ipecac is recommended. This Low Cost substance is available from pharmacists  and All families should keep a Supply on hand