This reminds me of funny thing that happened years ago when I was just learning the idiosyncrasies of the county indexes.

I was doing a search for UCC's on a company that contained both an individual name and company name.

The books in this county were divided into a section for companies and one for individuals. I discovered listings in both sections for this individual and wanted to better understand how they came to be indexed.

I asked an elderly deputy clerk who had been there as long as anybody could remember, "How do you determine which index to enter a UCC on a company that is also an individual name"

"Oh, that's easy", she said, "If the person is still living we put it with the individual filings. If he is dead we put it in the company filings".

"How do you know if he is dead or not", I asked.

"Well, we usually know but if we are in doubt we just check the probate filings" She groaned.

"Ok, can you tell me where I will find this company?" I said handing her my search form and pointing to the name at the top. "J.C. Penney"

She replied, "How would I know if he is alive or not. He isn't from around here. We have always done it this way. Shouldn't you know if the man you are searching is alive or not".