Did you know that one in two U.S. citizens have yet to create a plan for their estate? Just about everyone knows they need to get their affairs in order, but most people procrastinate when it comes to estate planning. It's an uncomfortable subject to think about. After all, nobody wants to ponder their death and what happens to their assets when they pass. However, working with an estate planning lawyer in Campobello, SC, protects you, your loved ones, and your assets, both while you're alive and after you have died. There isn't a perfect time to plan your estate, but there is a right time and that time is now.
We understand that there is no "one-size-fits-all" solution to your estate planning needs. That's why, at Cobb Hammett Law Firm, we make a concerted effort to speak with our clients personally so that we can create an estate plan that is as unique as they are. Our estate plans are comprehensive, cost-effective, and catered to you. That way, your family is provided if you are incapacitated or pass away.
At the end of the day, our goal is to make sure that every one of our clients leaves our office feeling less stressed and more informed. Peace of mind is valuable currency these days. Why worry about the future of your loved ones when you can use South Carolina law to ensure their stability?
Many of the clients in Campobello that walk through our doors have significant questions that require serious answers. They're filled with doubt, stress, and worry. They're worried about their children, their spouse, their relatives, or all the above. They ask questions like:
If these questions sound familiar, know that you are not alone. At Cobb Hammett Law Firm, we have worked with hundreds of clients just like you. Sometimes, these clients are unsatisfied with their current estate planning attorney in Campobello. Other times, they have been served with confusing papers or documents that leave them feeling overwhelmed. In either case, clients come to our office knowing they need to manage what is often a sudden, foreign situation.
The good news? We sit down with all new clients for an hour at no extra cost. We do so to get a basic sense of their situation and help steer them in the right direction. That way, they can leave our office feeling a little wiser and a lot better about the future.
Our firm specializes in several areas of estate planning and family law, including:
At Cobb Hammett, LLC, estate planning is like second nature to us. Having worked hundreds upon hundreds of cases, we have the knowledge and experience to assist with all the estate planning needs that you or your family have.
As our client, you will always work directly with your attorney. We do not pass cases off to paralegals or junior associates. Because your concerns and questions don't end when our office closes, we encourage our clients to contact us at any time.
Because we limit the number of cases we accept, we have the time and resources to truly dedicate ourselves to each of our clients. Unlike some competitors, we care about the outcome of every case because we know that our clients' future depends on it.
The word "estate" might make you think of a sprawling mansion in the French countryside. The truth is, you don't have to be rich to have an estate. In fact, most people already have an estate. An estate comprises the assets that a person owns like cars, bank accounts, real estate, businesses, and other possessions. Everyone's estate is different, but we all have one thing in common: none of us can take our estates with us when we die. When that does eventually happen, you will need legal instructions that state who gets what from your estate in plain terms.That, in a nutshell, is estate planning building a framework in advance that names the organizations or people that should receive your assets after you die. Planning your estate now helps make life much easier for your family down the line.
Contrary to popular belief, estate planning isn't just for adults who are approaching retirement age. Estate planning is for everyone. After all, we're all getting older, and none of us know exactly when it will be our time to go.
Although estate planning can be complicated, a well-rounded plan makes a huge difference in what is left to your beneficiaries. Before you start planning your estate, it's important to know a few common topics that may arise as you detail your needs.
Working with a veteran estate planning lawyer is a no-brainer, but you should consider working with a tax advisor too. Your attorney's role is to help guide you through the creation of your estate planning documents. Common documents include your will, health care directives, and power of attorney. Your tax advisor will help guide you through tax issues associated with your estate planning needs.
In this relationship, you make the decisions while your attorney and tax advisor help you understand and think through the options you're considering. As a team, they will help you state your wishes clearly while minimizing mistakes and adjusting your plans as they change. Because significant savings can result from thorough, informed planning, you should seriously consider working with a tax advisor in addition to your estate planning attorney.
If there were one overriding theme of estate planning, it would be maximizing what you plan to leave behind. Thinking through how each of your assets will be distributed is crucial to your estate. Your decisions may change depending on the type of asset, its size, how old you are, and several other factors. With an attorney on your side, you will gain a thorough understanding of what actions you should take to care for your family while minimizing expenses like taxes and court fees.
One of the biggest parts of maximizing what you're leaving behind is to minimize taxes. Federal taxes on estates and gifts are incredibly high. Both forms of taxes usually have exemption limits, which means you can give up to a specific amount without being taxed. Your lawyer can achieve that by using the gift tax exemption to move assets while you are still alive. This strategy maximizes how much your beneficiaries will receive.
Inheritance taxes are often based on the value of your estate and paid prior to asset distribution to your beneficiaries.
The executor of your estate plays a key role in your affairs. Their responsibilities include carrying out the terms of your will and seeing the estate settlement process through until the end. Obviously, such a role demands a qualified person. Choosing your executor isn't an easy decision. The person you select should be great at managing money, be savvy financially, and show an ability to be patient. That's because the executor is tasked with:
If the person that you choose as executor is inexperienced with the estate settlement process, it is recommended that they lean on an estate planning attorney in Campobello, SC for guidance. It should be noted that you may appoint more than a single executor to your estate. This is common when two individuals have complementary personalities or skill sets.
One of the biggest benefits of planning your estate is the peace of mind it brings to you and your family. With the help of our expert estate planning attorneys, you have the power to protect your assets, privacy, and children's welfare. You can also potentially save money on taxes or even avoid probate. By having your wishes legally documented before death or incapacity, you can minimize any impact on your beneficiaries and take control of your legacy. Without a comprehensive estate plan, you're leaving the future of your loved ones in the hands of the South Carolina court system.
With an estate plan in place, you can plan for incapacity by using a power of attorney or advanced medical directives. Doing so relieves your loved ones of the burden of asking the court for the authority to fulfill your wishes.
At Cobb Hammett Law Firm, we are committed to helping you prepare for both the expected and unexpected through years of experience and a fierce dedication to our clients. From establishing trusts to designing business succession plans, we are here to fight for you.
If a husband and wife each purchase reciprocating will packages we give a discount. Reciprocating just means the husband names the wife and the wife names the husband. Those four documents are:
As mentioned above, everyone's estate planning needs will be different. However, most plans include one or more of the following documents:
Your will is an essential piece of documentation and is often considered the cornerstone of a proper estate plan. Generally speaking, your will is a document that dictates the distribution of your assets after your death. Having an iron-clad will is one of the best ways to make sure that your wishes are communicated clearly. As is the case with most estate planning, it is highly recommended that you work with an estate planning attorney in Campobello, SC, to create and update your will.
The contents of a will typically include:
Without a will in place, the State of South Carolina will decide how to distribute assets to your beneficiaries. Allowing the state to distribute your assets is often an unfavorable route to take, since the settlement process may not include what you had in mind for your survivors. Having a will drafted that reflects your wishes will prevent such a situation from happening.
Despite its name, a living will does not instruct your survivors on what assets go where. Also called an advanced directive, your living will allows you to state your end-of-life medical wishes if you have become unable to communicate. This important document provides guidance to family members and doctors and solidifies certain issues like whether you should be resuscitated after an accident.
For example, it's common to direct that palliative care (care to decrease pain and suffering) always be administered if needed. Conversely, you may state that certain measures are not allowed, like CPR.
Traditionally, a trust is used to minimize estate taxes and maximize other benefits as part of a well-rounded estate plan. This fiduciary agreement lets a trustee hold your assets on behalf of your beneficiaries. There are many ways to arrange a trust to specify when and how your assets are distributed.
With a trust in place, your beneficiaries can avoid going to probate. That means they may be able to gain access to your assets quicker than when they are transferred with a standard will. Assets placed in a trust can pass outside of probate, which will save you and your family time, money, and stress.
There are two distinct trust categories that you should be aware of: revocable and irrevocable.
Also called a living trust, a revocable trust helps assets circumvent probate. With this trust, you can control your assets while you are still alive. These trusts are flexible and may be dissolved at any point in time. This type of trust becomes irrevocable upon your death. Revocable trusts can help you avoid the pitfalls of probate but be aware that they are usually still taxable.
This kind of trust transfers assets out of your estate so that they are not taxed and do not have to go through probate. However, once an irrevocable trust has been executed, it may not be altered. That means that once you establish this kind of trust, you lose control of its assets and cannot dissolve the trust. If your primary goal is to avoid taxes on your estate, setting up an irrevocable could be a wise choice.
When drafted with the help of an estate planning lawyer in Campobello, SC, your trust can also:
When constructed properly, a trust can protect your estate from your heirs' creditors. This can be a huge relief for beneficiaries who might need to brush up on money management skills.
Probate records are made available for public consumption. With a trust, you may have the choice of having your assets pass outside of probate court so that they remain private. In the process, you may also save money that you would lose to taxes and court fees.
Because you can specify the exact terms of a trust, you have more control over who receives your assets and when they receive them. As an example, you can set up a revocable trust so that your assets are attainable while you're alive. When you pass, remaining assets are distributed, even in complex situations involving children from multiple marriages.
If you know that you need to provide for your family and loved ones after your death, it's time to develop your estate plan. With Cobb Hammett Law Firm by your side, planning your estate doesn't have to be difficult. However, it does need to be accurate and executed exactly to your wishes something that we have been helping clients achieve for years. Don't leave your legacy up to chance contact our office today and secure your future generations.
CONTACT USGreenville NewsCAMPOBELLO, S.C. – When Duke Energy, using a subsidiary, purchased a 199-acre pasture in Campobello in March to build a new substation, it paid a premium.Duke paid more than $10,000 per acre more for its property than the next closest recent land-only sale in Campobello. Last year, land on Frontage Road sold for $15,000 an acre. Two years ago, another site sold for about $7,500 an acre.Duke paid $25,000 an acre when it purchased land for $4,963,500 from former Spartanburg County Counci...
Greenville News
CAMPOBELLO, S.C. – When Duke Energy, using a subsidiary, purchased a 199-acre pasture in Campobello in March to build a new substation, it paid a premium.
Duke paid more than $10,000 per acre more for its property than the next closest recent land-only sale in Campobello. Last year, land on Frontage Road sold for $15,000 an acre. Two years ago, another site sold for about $7,500 an acre.
Duke paid $25,000 an acre when it purchased land for $4,963,500 from former Spartanburg County Councilman Frank Nutt on March 30, according to the property deed.
Duke Energy plans to build a new 500-kilovolt substation on the land as part of its $1.1 billion Western Carolinas modernization plan.
Duke set off a firestorm of criticism from residents and business owners in northern Spartanburg and Greenville counties and western North Carolina when it recently revealed plans to erect new high-powered transmission lines to run between its new transmission station to a proposed natural gas plant on Lake Julian near Asheville.
The substation, which Duke said it wants to build in 2016, would be home base for the new project.
Critics have pointed to the high price Duke paid for the land as antithetical to its commitment listed on its project website of minimizing the costs to its customers.
Nutt, a developer and cattle farmer, purchased the largest chunk of the land in 1994 and added several adjoining parcels in 1997, 2007, 2013 and last year.
Nutt said this week he’d purchased the property as an investment and used it mainly for his cattle to graze.
He said he wasn’t looking to sell, but was approached by a real estate agent who wanted to buy it for a client.
“He never would tell me who it was and I, of course, was curious,” Nutt said.
Nutt said he found out Duke Energy was the buyer when the utility released a press statement to announce the project months after he’d sold the land.
“I was willing to sell it but was not looking to sell it,” Nutt said. “I had not listed it and had no immediate plans to sell it.”
A company called TBP Properties LLC bought the land. It was formed in 2006 and is listed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as one of six South Carolina-based Duke subsidiaries.
“We occasionally use a subsidiary, like many large companies, when we do not want to lose our negotiating position,” said Meghan Musgrave, a Duke spokeswoman.
Asked why Duke paid a premium for the land, Musgrave said the company doesn’t discuss its negotiations.
Duke considered property size, proximity to existing infrastructure, ecological and physical characteristics of the property and overall impact to the community, Musgrave said.
“We feel this site is the best option that meets all of this criteria, and we worked with a property owner that was willing to sell,” she said.
Nutt said though he initially wasn’t planning to sell, he was surprised he was able to negotiate such a high offer.
After he found out who the buyer was, Nutt said he can’t imagine a better use for the property than as a substation.
“There’s no noise. There’s no pollution. There’s no traffic from it. There’s no odor,” he said. “Probably a horse farm or a cattle farm would have more of a nuisance than this would.”
Patrick Knie, an attorney and neighbor to the property who has taken legal action to find out more information about the project, said he found it amazing that Duke would pay $25,000 an acre “because you could buy all the land you want up there for $15,000 an acre.”
Realtors opposed to Duke’s plans also questioned the sales price and showed comparable sites sold for far less.
Duke paid more per acre than every other large (20 acres or more) land-only purchase in the Upstate or Polk County in North Carolina except one in the last five years, according to an analysis of data from the Multiple Listings Service. The one higher price was for 22 acres on Highway 101 near BMW in Greer.
The average price-per-acre of land sales in the last five years was $5,145 per acre.
Nutt turned around and purchased 675 acres from Pacolet Milliken on Rainbow Lake Road in Spartanburg for $2.3 million, or $3,400 per acre in April.
He’s preparing some of that land for pasture now, he said.
Duke will continue to gather comments from stakeholders through mid-August on a proposed route through the mountains for its transmission lines. Then it plans to announce a route by the first of next year, Musgrave said.
Meanwhile, residents are already having their say following a series of three meetings Duke held to show the proposed routes and gather information.
More than a dozen have already left comments with the South Carolina Public Service Commission on a page set up to collect comments as they await Duke’s proposal, said Dukes Scott, director of the Office of Regulatory Staff.
More than 3,000 have signed a Change.org petition to stop Duke’s project.
The transmission lines would allow Duke to import power from Asheville as well as export power from South Carolina so the utility can use the most cost-effective type of generation available, Musgrave said.
It would allow Duke to connect its Duke Energy Progress systems in North Carolina to its Duke Energy Carolinas system in South Carolina, she said.
“All generation that is routed through substations and transmission lines will now be connected to the entire system throughout this region, she said.
Duke plans to complete its transmission lines project by 2019.
Duke Energy Progress will announce the planned route for a 40-plus mile high-voltage line from Campobello S.C., to Asheville in October — three months ahead of schedule.Duke (NYSE:DUK) is accelerating the timeline to accommodate residents of the area — many of whom oppose the line— who told Duke they want some resolution about where the line will go.And while Duk...
Duke Energy Progress will announce the planned route for a 40-plus mile high-voltage line from Campobello S.C., to Asheville in October — three months ahead of schedule.
Duke (NYSE:DUK) is accelerating the timeline to accommodate residents of the area — many of whom oppose the line— who told Duke they want some resolution about where the line will go.
And while Duke has shortened the deadline for choosing the final path, it has extended the deadline for people in the western Carolinas to comment on the proposed routes. The comment deadline originally set at Aug. 16 is now extended to Aug. 31.
Becky Barnes, head of Spartanburg, S.C., public relations firm Capital Ideas Inc., is a founding member of the Foothills Preservation Alliance. The group opposes putting the line anywhere in the broad area Duke has proposed for the route. Barnes says her group is encouraged by Duke’s decision. In fact, she says, it asked for it.
Her organization and a number of local community groups had a fruitful meeting with Duke on Tuesday that was organized by the S.C. Office of Regulatory Staff, the state’s consumer advocate for utility issues.
“I think Duke understands that we are a region and that we have concerns about putting a line anywhere through here,” she says.
The 40-to-45-mile line is part of a $1.1 billion project to upgrade power generation and transmission in western North Carolina. Last week, Duke appointed utility veteran Robert Sipes to a newly created position of manager for Duke Energy’s western North Carolina region in part to shepherd this project through the approval process.
“We’ve been listening closely to potentially impacted communities and landowners along the study routes and have heard overwhelmingly from them the need to expedite the review process to reduce the period of uncertainty for selecting the final route,” Sipes says in announcing the new deadline for choosing the path of the line. “While we are expediting our decision, we are not sacrificing thoroughness.”
Barnes says the Foothills Preservation Alliance hopes Duke will decide that none of the proposed routes is acceptable. To that end, her group is encouraging public comments be sent to Duke, either through Duke’s website for public input or through the alliance’s website.
Barnes says her group is hopeful it can change Duke’s mind. But the company has not publicly backed down from its contention that the $320 million line and substation are necessary and will have to run from major transmission lines already available near Campobello to key infrastructure just south of Asheville near Fletcher.
That means that the line will have to run somewhere through the region that the alliance and other power-line opponents want to protect.
Duke spokesman Tom Williams says the company has staffed up the team working on the proposed line. The company has received 3,000 comments from the public and expects more, so it has assigned additional staff to make sure all comments are read and properly digested.
Duke also has beefed up the staff assigned to do the engineering and siting work on the line to address legitimate concerns raised by the comments.
But he talked in terms of narrowing the choice to a specific route in a broad zone that covers parts of four counties in the Carolinas.
“We will be alleviating the concerns of some of the folks along the various alternative routes we have talked about,” Williams says. “We are narrowing the universe of the people upset by the possible routes by working to determine a single path for the line.”
Barnes and her allies say there is nowhere in the broad corridor that will not have a severe impact on the economy of the foothills region. She appreciates Duke’s decision to accelerate the planning time and arrive at a final proposal. She says the current situation has already curtailed sales of commercial and residential real estate.
But she says that any high-voltage power line from Campobello to Asheville will hurt the economy in an area that is distinguished as a tourist destination.
The Tryon Resort and International Equestrian Center is a vital part of the economy in the region. The power lines would disrupt the equestrian trails in the region and mar the visual appeal of the region, she says.
Williams has figures that show peak demand in Duke Progress’ Asheville region jumped 29% from 2013 to 2014. And he says there was a similar increase in the peak earlier this year.
The proposed line will connect a 650-megawatt natural gas plant Duke Progress will build in Asheville to the Duke Energy Carolinas grid in South Carolina.
That will allow for greater sharing of power in the region. This will help ensure power reliability in the Duke Progress Region, which serves more than 160,000 customers in eight N.C. counties around Asheville.
Upick tulips in the spring, and Upick pumpkins and sunflowers in the fall, count us in! Thompson Family Farms in Campobello, SC has so many opportunities to pick your own. Picking blooming flowers and pumpkins is delightful, and Thompson Family Farms is one of the only farms near the Upstate that offers u-pick tulips. 57,000 of them! What a win! We adore this farm because it is well-maintained, it is run efficiently, the view of Hogback Mountain is perfect for photo...
Upick tulips in the spring, and Upick pumpkins and sunflowers in the fall, count us in! Thompson Family Farms in Campobello, SC has so many opportunities to pick your own. Picking blooming flowers and pumpkins is delightful, and Thompson Family Farms is one of the only farms near the Upstate that offers u-pick tulips. 57,000 of them! What a win! We adore this farm because it is well-maintained, it is run efficiently, the view of Hogback Mountain is perfect for photos with my kids, and everything we have picked has been high quality.
*Tulip U-pick begins on Monday, March 11th, 2024! Hours are 10 am – 6 pm, Monday – Saturday*Upick pumpkins, sunflowers, and cotton will occur in early Fall 2024.
As some of the first pops of color to emerge from the ground, tulips are a welcome sign that spring is here. Fresh-picked tulips make excellent gifts, centerpieces, and decor. Plus, it is so much fun going out to a U-pick patch and selecting the flowers yourself. It’s pretty joyful.
Check out some of the beautiful scenes waiting for you at Thompson Family Farms.
For 2024, you will find the u-pick tulip farm at Thompson Family Farms Campobello location! If you picked pumpkins are sunflowers in 2023, then this is the same location.
The Flower Patch at Thompson Family Farms is open seasonally in March. The length of time the patch is open depends on the weather and bloom time, and the season is very short, but so worth it. It is stunning. Upick begins Monday, March 11th, 2024!
Tulips are synonymous with the cool, breezy weather of early Spring. You can u-pick from 9 varieties of tulips throughout the short season. They have multiple colors, including pink, red, yellow, white, and variegated orange/red, and more.
Be sure to stay on the paths when walking through the flowers. In addition, if you cut the flower, you buy it. Be sure it is the flower you want before taking your scissors to the stem.
The Thompsons recommend cutting the flower at the length that you want, and we found cutting low on the stem to be best for us. Most importantly, make sure to not dig or stomp on the bulbs, as they will be left in the ground to bloom again next year!
Once you have all of the tulips you would like, you can head back to the tent to have them wrapped in bouquets. If you plan to pick a large number of tulips, I recommend bringing something sturdy like a box to take them home in, so they are safe from damage.
Other than the obvious photos of you and your children amongst the flowers, The Flower Patch also has two lovely photography setups on the property. If you head to the far ends of the fields you will find a red tractor set up with a rustic farm vibe of window panes and flower buckets that make for some adorable photos!
There is also a pallet-style backdrop with a chair and blooming flowers to take pictures with. The property itself is situated in a field that is surrounded by trees, so there are many opportunities to get that perfect spring picture.
Photographers who are interested in renting the space can contact Thompson Family Farms directly through their sign-up link to book private sessions. There are a limited number of sessions available due to the short season for tulips. Private sessions occur from 5 pm until sundown.
Admission is $8 per person for ages 12 and older. Children under 11 and under are free to attend. If you want to participate in u-pick, Tulips are $1 per stem. Flowers will be wrapped in a bouquet for guests at checkout. The farm does take cash, card, and Venmo.
Please follow the farm’s guidance for cutting and watch your step to ensure that the other tulips are safe for other people to enjoy their u-pick experience.
Sara Thompson, the owner of The Flower Patch, recommends making a fresh cut before putting your flowers in their water vase once you arrive home. You should then display your flowers out of direct sunlight. She also mentioned the fascinating fact that tulip stems continue to grow once placed in water, so they may appear to be longer after a few days in the vase. Be sure to change out your water regularly to elongate your bloom time. And most importantly, enjoy!
Thompson Family Farms13830 SC-11, Campobello, SC Hours: Monday- Saturday10 am – 6 pm
Looking to make a day trip out of your adventure? Check out Campbells Covered Bridge located just a few miles’ drive of the Thompson Family Farms. You can also find other fabulous things to do in our discovery guide to Landrum, SC!
As the fall season begins, so does the time of year to head down to the pumpkin patch to pick some pumpkins for decorating your home for fall and Halloween. Thompson Family Farms will open their pick-your-own-cut pumpkin patch in September. There will be over 10 varieties of pumpkin to choose from, which is more than I even knew existed! The farm will also have prepicked and organized pumpkins near the farm stand if you aren’t too keen on picking yours yourself.
While at the farm, you can enjoy a sunflower maze, a selection of fall crops, and lots of photo opportunities! So, grab your sunscreen and closed-toed shoes (it’s a little bumpy out there in the fields) and head on down to the pumpkin patch at the farm.
Pumpkins will be priced by size and variety and will start at $7 per pumpkin. The farm will have a limited number of wagons to help lug your pumpkins to the car, but they do recommend bringing a wagon if you want to have one out in the fields.
Pumpkins in the field are precut from the vine to ensure that underripe pumpkins are not picked. Any pumpkin still on the vine is not ready to pick, so please do not pull on their stems!
There will also be prepicked pumpkins, Indian corn, corn stalks, and cotton stems for sale as they continue to ripen throughout the season.
While at the farm, be sure to head to the sunflower maze! The maze is 7 acres and is a great way to spend some time with your kids doing a scavenger hunt. You will find scavenger hunt papers at the front counter, which include clues to the educational maze.
After the maze, you can also pick sunflowers, zinnias, and cosmos for an additional fee and have them wrapped in a bouquet at the front counter to take home.
Thompson Family Farms will be open in September 2024, through the end of October for u-pick pumpkins along with other seasonal items. Hours are 10 am – 7 pm, Thursdays – Saturdays. Admission is free!
The Thompson Family Farms pumpkin and sunflower fields are located at 13830 SC-11, Campobello, SC.
Thompson Family Farms13820 SC-11, Campobello, SC
Love pumpkins? We have a whole guide for that!
Kidding Around Greenville Pumpkin Guide: where to get pumpkins, where to learn about pumpkins, tasty pumpkin treats, and lots more!
If you love sunflowers (it is hard not to) then Thompson Family Farms has a U-pick experience for you! You can mosey through fields of gorgeous sunflowers, and even pick a few to take home.
The U-pick sunflower fields are located in Campobello, SC, right past the Greenville County line into Spartanburg County off of Highway 11. The patch is huge, and overlooks Hogback Mountain, making for spectacular views. There are also several varieties, so you can create an array of yellows and orange colors for your bouquet!
In addition to the sunflower fields, there are places for photo opportunities, a kid-sized sunflower maze, and picnic tables to enjoy the view. The sunflower maze is unique in that you will not find another one in the Upstate. It is so much fun walking through the flowers and seeing the honeybees at work! There are flowers of various sizes, shapes, and oozing oils that smell delicious. It does get hot in the midday while crushing through the maze, so bring water and wear hats.
There is not much needed to get some amazing photos, but Thompson Family Farms has created some special areas to get those Pinterest-worthy shots. There is a pallet-style photo backdrop surrounded by sunflowers, a fun “face in the hole” sunflower wall, and even some adorable bamboo bean pole teepees near the entrance that make for some adorable photos.
There are also rows and rows of blooming sunflowers to use as the backdrop of your photos. The farm is offering daytime and evening hours (on Friday and Saturday) and even has sessions available for professional photographers.
Thompson Family Farms will open for u-pick sunflowers in Fall 2024. For updates, including weather changes and sell-out date, check out the Thompson Family Farms Facebook page.
Hours: Monday – Saturday from 9 am to 2 pm. They will have sunset hours on Fridays and Saturdays from 5 pm – 9 pm. The farm will be open on July 4th for their regular day hours.
Prices: Admission is $6 per person, but ages 12 and younger are free. U-pick sunflowers are $1 per stem.
Thompson Family Farms13820 SC-11, Campobello, SC
Thompson Family Farms in Campobello, SC offers pick-your-own Upick pumpkins and sunflowers in the fall. Count us in! Thompson Family Farms has a huge pumpkin patch, sunflowers, zinnias, and unique sunflower maze each fall. We adore this farm because it is well-maintained, it is run efficiently, the view of Hogback Mountain is perfect for photos with my kids, and everything we have picked has been high quality. Fall at the Farm begins August 28th, 2024...
Thompson Family Farms in Campobello, SC offers pick-your-own Upick pumpkins and sunflowers in the fall. Count us in! Thompson Family Farms has a huge pumpkin patch, sunflowers, zinnias, and unique sunflower maze each fall. We adore this farm because it is well-maintained, it is run efficiently, the view of Hogback Mountain is perfect for photos with my kids, and everything we have picked has been high quality. Fall at the Farm begins August 28th, 2024
Fall at the Farm: Sunflower Maze, Pumpkins, and Corn in September/October
Homeschool Days/ Field Trip Dates for Fall 2024 & Special Events
Sunflower Maze & Sunflower UPick
As the fall season begins, so does the time of year to head down to the pumpkin patch to pick some pumpkins for decorating your home for fall and Halloween. Thompson Family Farms will open their pick-your-own-cut pumpkin patch and sunflower fields on August 28th, 2024. There will be over 10 varieties of pumpkin to choose from, which is more than I even knew existed! The farm will also have prepicked and organized pumpkins near the farm stand if you aren’t too keen on picking yours yourself.
While at the farm, you can enjoy a sunflower maze, u-pick sunflowers, and a u-pick cut flower field (admission fee to the cut flower field), a selection of fall crops, and lots of photo opportunities! So, grab your sunscreen and closed-toed shoes (it’s a little bumpy out there in the fields) and head on down to the pumpkin patch at the farm.
Pumpkins will be priced by size and variety and will start at approximately $7 per pumpkin. The farm will have a limited number of wagons to help lug your pumpkins to the car, but they do recommend bringing a wagon if you want to have one out in the fields.
Pumpkins in the field are precut from the vine to ensure that underripe pumpkins are not picked. Any pumpkin still on the vine is not ready to pick, so please do not pull on their stems!
There will also be prepicked pumpkins, Indian corn, sweet corn, and other seasonal items for sale.
If you love sunflowers (it is hard not to) then Thompson Family Farms has a U-pick experience for you! You can mosey through fields of gorgeous sunflowers, and even pick a few to take home.
The U-pick sunflower fields are located in Campobello, SC, right past the Greenville County line into Spartanburg County off of Highway 11. The patch is huge, and overlooks Hogback Mountain, making for spectacular views. There are also several varieties, so you can create an array of yellows and orange colors for your bouquet!
In addition to the sunflower fields, there are places for photo opportunities, a kid-sized sunflower maze, and picnic tables to enjoy the view. The sunflower maze is unique in that you will not find another one in the Upstate. It is so much fun walking through the flowers and seeing the honeybees at work! There are flowers of various sizes, shapes, and oozing oils that smell delicious. It does get hot in the midday while crushing through the maze, so bring water and wear hats.
There is not much needed to get some amazing photos, but Thompson Family Farms has created some special areas to get those Pinterest-worthy shots. There is a pallet-style photo backdrop surrounded by sunflowers, a fun “face in the hole” sunflower wall, and even some adorable bamboo bean pole teepees near the entrance that make for some adorable photos.
There are also rows and rows of blooming sunflowers to use as the backdrop of your photos.
Thompson Family Farms will open for the Fall at the Farm event from August 28th, 2024 – the end of October. They will open through the end of October for u-pick pumpkins, the sunflower maze, flower u-pick, Indian corn, and sweet corn. They will also have additional seasonal items for sale. For updates, including weather changes and sell-out date, check out their Facebook page (Thompson Family Farms Facebook page).
Hours: Wednesday- Saturday, 10 am to 7 pm.
Prices: Admission is free, cost to cut sunflowers by the stem and pumpkins are priced by weight (the cut flower garden for Zinnia’s and other flowers has a separate admission fee)
The Thompson Family Farms pumpkin and sunflower fields are located at 13830 SC-11, Campobello, SC.
Along with their Fall at the Farm event, Thompson Family Farms will also offer several unique events that homeschoolers, schools, and families would love!
Thompson Family Farms13820 SC-11, Campobello, SC
Three years after enacting zoning for southwestern Spartanburg County to regulate growth, County Council is moving forward with plans to bring zoning to the entire county.Planning Director Joan Holliday told council members Monday public input will be sought in drafting a performance zoning plan to be ready for council approval by this fall.T...
Three years after enacting zoning for southwestern Spartanburg County to regulate growth, County Council is moving forward with plans to bring zoning to the entire county.
Planning Director Joan Holliday told council members Monday public input will be sought in drafting a performance zoning plan to be ready for council approval by this fall.
The plan would not apply to incorporated towns and cities, but could bring order to fast-growing unincorporated areas like Boiling Springs and Campobello, where many residents have said uncontrolled growth has brought traffic headaches.
Some residents said they want to see what's in the plan before outright supporting it.
"If you surveyed citizens of this county today, most would say that development is out of control," said Sally Rock of Campobello. "Will the proposed zoning be a political path to more rapid development? How do citizens in the southwest corner feel zoning is working there?"
Southwest zoning plan moves forwardZoning plan for southwest corridor approved
Spartanburg County's Southwest Performance Plan is modeled after Lexington County's plan, Holliday said.
The 160-page Southwest Performance Zoning Plan covers a large area from Greer to Woodruff, where most of the current industrial and residential growth is occurring.
At first, county officials anticipated expanding the zoning to four other areas, piece by piece, but have now decided to simply expand the Southwest Plan countywide.
If enacted countywide, it would replace the county's 22-year-old Unified Land Management Ordinance (ULMO) that has regulated development with rules such as buffers, height, landscaping and setbacks.
Over time, the ULMO has been criticized by many residents as too weak to protect against sprawl and address infrastructure needs such as roads, before growth happens.
Two years ago, County Councilman Bob Walker cited an example, saying the ULMO would not prevent an RV park planned on Landrum Mill Road in northern Spartanburg County that residents have opposed, but performance zoning might require the developer to find another site.
Performance zoning, on the other hand, is loaded with what uses are allowed in certain areas. It classifies roads from most traveled to least traveled: arterial (heavily traveled); collector; local; limited local; restrictive local; and residential local.
The greater the traffic volume on a road, the more uses that are permitted, such as schools, daycare centers, hospitals, flea markets, retail stores and manufacturing facilities.
Highway 101 is an example of a major arterial road with the highest classification.
The zoning also includes restrictive districts by protecting rural areas and guiding development toward population centers.
Former County Councilman Roger Nutt, who headed up the process of drafting the Southwest Plan, said the plan preserves property rights – a major concern at the outset of planning.
Holliday said meetings will be held with council members and planning commission members in February and March, followed by "stakeholder engagement" from April to August.
Planners will then seek public input from July to September, with a planning commission review in September, and finally three readings of the ordinance by county council in September, October and November.
Details of where and when public meetings will be held have not been finalized.
Campobello-area residents critical of uncontrolled growth said the plan is long needed.
"I was a big proponent of performance zoning," said Jeffrey A. Horton Jr., a resident of northern Spartanburg County. "I feel it's the only way to regulate growth and preserve rural areas of my district.
"It's not necessarily meant to stifle growth, but guide it where it can become viable and manageable. People are jaded with traffic, state of our roads and over-congestion this population growth has produced, yet no one is actively addressing these issues."
Lou Nespecca of Campobello said he hopes the plan provides grandfather provisions to exempt some current uses.
"I would find it hard to tell someone who has done something for 25 years it is now illegal," he said. "I would like to know the push behind this agenda. Do they now want to over-develop other areas of the county and plan to force people out of their current situation? What happens if the pig farm was there first, and houses start to pop up around it?."
Rock, one of many northern Spartanburg County residents who oppose a planned RV park near Landrum, said she hopes the county is sincere in taking public input into account.
Opponents of the RV park were upset after the Planning Commission gave conditional approval to the RV park in March 2021. Opponents said they were not notified ahead of time. County officials said the park plan was on the Planning Commission's agenda and properly posted on its website a week before the meeting.
"This county has a track record of not welcoming citizen input and ignoring citizens' concerns when it comes to development and a vision for the future," she said. "Folks feel they have zero voice in local government land use planning. If you surveyed citizens of this county today, most would say that development is out of control."
Nathan Williams, a third-generation farmer on Highway 357 in Campobello, said the influx of housing developments is causing streams to flood more often and destroy topsoil needed for crops. He's also seen more traffic on narrow roads, making it impossible at times for his combine – a machine to harvest grain crops – to get to fields without the use of an escort.
He said he hopes the zoning plan will preserve farmland and steer growth to population centers.
"I don't know the solution," the 60-year-old farmer said. "I'm just concerned that in our future, we're not going to have anything left to farm."
Mike Brady of Boiling Springs has often been critical of the lack of county planning in Boiling Springs, where commercial growth branching out from the Highway 9 corridor has prompted many discussions about whether Boiling Springs should be incorporated with its own laws.
"The county has always held the opinion that zoning is the answer, but look in areas that have zoning regulations like Greenville County. I don't see it has worked very well there," he said. "Council holds the opinion that I am anti-growth, I am not. I'm for the county doing its job of planning areas for the benefit of the communities the growth will impact.
"Roads are a prime example of the tail wagging the dog. Let development come in unplanned, congest an area, and then try to address the problem on the back end. Old-timers like myself are looking at leaving the communities we have loved and worked in for a lifetime because of the issues lack of planning has created."