Question 1

What makes a will valid in South Carolina?

Accepted Answer

Any person of sound mind who is not a minor may make a will. The will must be in writing, signed by the testator (or by someone else in the testator's presence and at the testator's direction), and signed by at least two witnesses who saw the signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or the will.

Question 2

Is a handwritten will valid in South Carolina?

Accepted Answer

South Carolina does not recognize a handwritten, unwitnessed will made in South Carolina; every will needs two witnesses. A handwritten will valid where it was signed (or under the law of the testator's domicile) can be honored under the choice-of-law rule. A separate handwritten list of tangible personal property referred to in a valid will may be used.

Question 3

Does a will need to be notarized in South Carolina?

Accepted Answer

A will can be made self-proved when signed, or at any later time, through the testator's acknowledgment and the witnesses' affidavits sworn before a notary or other officer authorized to give oaths, using the statutory form. A self-proved will can be admitted without testimony from the witnesses.

Question 4

Who inherits if someone dies without a will in South Carolina?

Accepted Answer

Spouse and no children or other descendants: spouse takes the entire estate. Spouse and descendants: spouse takes one-half and the descendants share the other half. No spouse: descendants take everything; if none, parents; then the parents' descendants (brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews); then grandparents and their descendants, then great-grandparents and their descendants, split between the paternal and maternal sides.

Question 5

What is a surviving spouse entitled to in South Carolina?

Accepted Answer

A surviving spouse of a person who lived in South Carolina may elect to take one-third of the decedent's probate estate (the property passing by will or intestacy, after funeral and administration expenses and valid claims) instead of what the will provides.

Question 6

What is the small estate limit in South Carolina?

Accepted Answer

If the whole probate estate, less liens and encumbrances, is $45,000 or less, a person entitled to the property may collect personal property (money owed, bank funds, stock, tangible items) with a sworn affidavit once 30 days have passed since the death and no personal representative application is pending. The affidavit must be approved by the probate judge and filed with the probate court. Real estate counts toward the limit but cannot be transferred by this affidavit.

Question 7

Is there a simplified probate process in South Carolina?

Accepted Answer

If the inventory shows the probate estate, less liens and encumbrances, is not more than $45,000 plus exempt property, allowances and certain costs, the personal representative may publish notice to creditors and then distribute directly without the full process. The same summary procedure is available when the appointed personal representative is the only heir or devisee. The estate is then closed by a sworn closing statement filed after the inventory and court fees.

Question 8

How does probate work in South Carolina?

Accepted Answer

1) File an application for informal probate and appointment (or a summons and petition for a formal proceeding) with the county probate court; the original will must be in the court's possession for informal probate. 2) The court issues letters to the personal representative. 3) Publish notice to creditors once a week for three successive weeks. 4) File the inventory and appraisement (fair market value at death) with the court within 90 days of appointment. 5) Pay valid claims, expenses and taxes. 6) Distribute and close the estate. Probate or appointment generally cannot begin more than ten years after death.

Question 9

How long do creditors have to file claims against an estate in South Carolina?

Accepted Answer

After notice to creditors is first published, creditors have eight months from the first publication to present claims. A creditor given written notice must present the claim by the earlier of one year after death or 60 days after the notice was delivered. Claims arising before death are barred in any case if not presented within one year after death.

Question 10

Who can be an executor in South Carolina?

Accepted Answer

The court appoints by priority: a person named in the will, then devisees, then the surviving spouse, then other heirs, and later a qualifying creditor. A person under 18 or found unsuitable by the court cannot serve. A personal representative appointed in the decedent's home state has priority for a nonresident's estate. Bond is not required when all heirs and devisees waive it or the will waives it, among other cases; if bond is required and no amount is set, it must be at least the estimated value of the personal estate.

Question 11

Does South Carolina allow transfer-on-death deeds?

Accepted Answer

South Carolina law does not provide a transfer-on-death or beneficiary deed for real estate. Transfer-on-death designations are allowed for titled personal property such as vehicles, mobile homes and watercraft, and payable-on-death designations for bank accounts.

Question 12

What does a quitclaim deed need to be valid in South Carolina?

Accepted Answer

Before a deed can be recorded it must be signed by the grantor in the presence of two witnesses and then proved by a subscribing witness's affidavit or acknowledged before a notary. The deed must show the grantee's mailing address and a derivation clause. Deeds are recorded with the county Register of Deeds (or Clerk of Court in counties without one). A deed recording fee of $1.85 per $500 of value (state $1.30 plus county $0.55) applies, and an affidavit of value must be filed with the deed (stating the exemption, if any).

Question 13

What are the requirements for a power of attorney in South Carolina?

Accepted Answer

Under South Carolina's Uniform Power of Attorney Act, a power of attorney must be signed by the principal, witnessed with the same formality as a will (two witnesses), and acknowledged or proved like a deed. It is durable unless it says it ends on incapacity. For an agent to act after the principal becomes incapacitated, the power of attorney must be recorded like a deed in the county where the principal lives. The Act does not set out a statutory form for creating the power of attorney.

Question 14

What are the requirements for a health care directive in South Carolina?

Accepted Answer

A health care power of attorney must be dated and signed by the principal and by at least two witnesses who meet the qualification rules (for example, not certain relatives, not the attending physician or that physician's employee, not financially responsible for the principal's care, and no more than one employee of the treating facility). A statutory form is provided. A separate living will (Declaration of a Desire for a Natural Death) is made under the Death with Dignity Act, Title 44, Chapter 77.

Question 15

Does South Carolina have an estate or inheritance tax?

Accepted Answer

No state estate or inheritance tax in practice. South Carolina's estate tax equals the federal credit for state death taxes, and that federal credit is no longer allowed, so no South Carolina estate tax is due. South Carolina has no inheritance tax.

Question 16

How do I make a living will in South Carolina?

Accepted Answer

South Carolina's living will is the 'Declaration of a Desire for a Natural Death' under the Death with Dignity Act. It must be substantially in the statutory form (S.C. Code § 44-77-50), dated and signed by the declarant in the presence of an officer authorized to administer oaths (such as a notary) and two witnesses (one of whom may be the notary). The witnesses state in an affidavit that they are not related to the declarant by blood, marriage or adoption, not directly financially responsible for the declarant's medical care, not entitled to any part of the estate, not a beneficiary of the declarant's life insurance, and the statute limits how many may be employees of the treating facility. It applies when the declarant has a terminal condition or is permanently unconscious.

Question 17

How do I make a medical power of attorney in South Carolina?

Accepted Answer

South Carolina uses a health care power of attorney. It must be dated and signed by the principal and by at least two qualified witnesses (for example, not certain relatives, not the attending physician or that physician's employee, not financially responsible for the principal's care, and no more than one employee of the treating facility). A statutory form is provided. A document with the principal's signature, two qualified witnesses and a notary's attestation, naming the agent and the decisions covered, is deemed to comply.

Question 18

How do living trusts work in South Carolina?

Accepted Answer

South Carolina has adopted the South Carolina Trust Code (S.C. Code § 62-7-101 et seq.), based on the Uniform Trust Code. A trust is created only if the settlor has capacity, indicates an intention to create the trust, the trust has a definite beneficiary (or is a charitable, animal-care or noncharitable-purpose trust), the trustee has duties to perform, and the same person is not the sole trustee and sole beneficiary. A trust need not be in writing, but an oral trust can be proved only by clear and convincing evidence. A revocable living trust may be created by a declaration of trust or by transferring property, and is not invalid because the settlor keeps control (such as a right to revoke). Unless the terms expressly make the trust irrevocable, the settlor may revoke or amend it (for instruments signed on or after the Code's effective date). Property held in the trust passes under its terms without probate; assets left in the decedent's own name may still need probate.

Question 19

What does an executor have to do in South Carolina?

Accepted Answer

Main duties and deadlines for a South Carolina personal representative: qualify by filing any required bond and a statement accepting the duties; within 30 days after appointment, give information of the appointment to the heirs and devisees; upon appointment, publish a notice to creditors once a week for three successive weeks in a county newspaper, requiring claims within eight months after the first publication (claims are in any event barred one year after death); within 90 days after appointment, prepare and file with the court an inventory and appraisement of probate property at date-of-death fair market value and mail a copy to the heirs and devisees; allow or disallow and pay claims; and then file a full accounting, a proposal for distribution and a petition for settlement of the estate with proof of publication of the creditor notice.

Question 20

How do I get letters testamentary in South Carolina?

Accepted Answer

The county probate court issues letters to the personal representative. Applicants file an application for informal probate and appointment (the original will must be in the court's possession for informal probate) or a summons and petition for a formal testacy or appointment proceeding. Priority goes to the person named in the will, then devisees, the surviving spouse, other heirs, and later a qualifying creditor. Before receiving letters, the personal representative files any required bond and a statement of acceptance of the duties. Bond is not required when the will or all heirs and devisees waive it, among other cases. Probate or appointment generally cannot begin more than ten years after death. SCDMV and others accept the probate court's certificate of appointment.

Question 21

Does South Carolina have an affidavit of heirship?

Accepted Answer

No statute provides an affidavit of heirship for real estate. Heirs are determined by the probate court: a formal proceeding may ask for an order that the decedent died intestate (which determines the heirs) or probate a will, after notice and hearing. The small estate affidavit cannot transfer real estate.

Question 22

How can you avoid probate in South Carolina?

Accepted Answer

Non-probate transfers available in South Carolina: (1) No transfer-on-death deed for real estate; joint ownership with survivorship can pass real estate outside probate. (2) Single- and multiple-party bank accounts, including P.O.D. accounts, using the statutory account form (S.C. Code § 62-6-101 et seq., esp. § 62-6-104). (3) Transfer on death (TOD) designations on vehicles, mobile homes, watercraft and outboard motors titled by SCDMV or DNR (S.C. Code § 62-6-401). (4) Transfer-on-death registration of securities (Uniform Transfer on Death Security Registration Act, S.C. Code § 35-6-10 et seq.). (5) Small estate affidavit for probate estates of $45,000 or less, approved by the probate judge (S.C. Code § 62-3-1201). (6) Revocable living trust (South Carolina Trust Code).

Question 23

Where can I get a power of attorney form in South Carolina?

Accepted Answer

South Carolina's Uniform Power of Attorney Act (S.C. Code Title 62, Article 8) does not include a statutory financial power of attorney form; it provides only an optional form an agent may use to certify facts about a power of attorney (62-8-119(f)). A power of attorney must be signed by the principal (or by another person in the principal's presence at the principal's direction), attested with the same formalities and witness requirements as a will in South Carolina, and acknowledged or proved under Section 30-5-30 (62-8-105). For health care, the Probate Code sets out a "Health Care Power of Attorney (S.C. Statutory Form)"; documents executed on or after January 1, 2007 must be substantially in that form. It is not valid unless two persons sign as witnesses who saw the principal sign or acknowledge the signature. Witnesses cannot include the principal's spouse, close relatives and their spouses, anyone financially responsible for the principal's medical care, heirs or will and life insurance beneficiaries, the named agents, the principal's physician or the physician's employees, or anyone with a claim against the estate; if the principal is a patient in a health facility, no more than one witness may be a facility employee. Notarization of the health care form is optional.

Question 24

How do I search probate court records in South Carolina?

Accepted Answer

The probate court has exclusive original jurisdiction over estates of decedents, including will contests and construction of wills, with some matters (such as formal probate and will construction) removable to circuit court on timely motion (S.C. Code 62-1-302). The South Carolina Judicial Branch's Case Records Search links to each county's Public Index for trial court records; the page does not list probate court records among them.

Question 25

How do I transfer a car title after someone dies in South Carolina?

Accepted Answer

SCDMV rules: if the title has a Transfer on Death designation, the surviving beneficiary presents a death certificate showing the beneficiary survived all owners and follows the normal titling process. If the title lists owners with an 'or' relationship, the surviving owner may act as if the deceased owner were not on the title; with an 'and' relationship, the survivor must follow the probate court's direction. A personal representative presents the probate court certificate of appointment and signs the title as seller with '(PR)' beside the name (or also as buyer to title it in the PR's name). If you are not on the title, the probate court must direct SCDMV, either through a PR or a small estate affidavit issued by the court (which only allows titling in the named person's name). SCDMV generally does not accept wills for titles.

Requirements for a valid will	Any person of sound mind who is not a minor may make a will. The will must be in writing, signed by the testator (or by someone else in the testator's presence and at the testator's direction), and signed by at least two witnesses who saw the signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or the will. A will is also valid in South Carolina if it met the law of the place where it was signed or of the testator's home at signing or at death (§ 62-2-505). Source: S.C. Code §§ 62-2-501, 62-2-502
Handwritten (holographic) wills	South Carolina does not recognize a handwritten, unwitnessed will made in South Carolina; every will needs two witnesses. A handwritten will valid where it was signed (or under the law of the testator's domicile) can be honored under the choice-of-law rule. A separate handwritten list of tangible personal property referred to in a valid will may be used. Source: S.C. Code §§ 62-2-502, 62-2-505, 62-2-512
Self-proving affidavit	A will can be made self-proved when signed, or at any later time, through the testator's acknowledgment and the witnesses' affidavits sworn before a notary or other officer authorized to give oaths, using the statutory form. A self-proved will can be admitted without testimony from the witnesses. Source: S.C. Code § 62-2-503

Probate steps	1) File an application for informal probate and appointment (or a summons and petition for a formal proceeding) with the county probate court; the original will must be in the court's possession for informal probate. 2) The court issues letters to the personal representative. 3) Publish notice to creditors once a week for three successive weeks. 4) File the inventory and appraisement (fair market value at death) with the court within 90 days of appointment. 5) Pay valid claims, expenses and taxes. 6) Distribute and close the estate. Probate or appointment generally cannot begin more than ten years after death. Source: S.C. Code §§ 62-3-108, 62-3-301, 62-3-401, 62-3-706, 62-3-801
Simplified probate	If the inventory shows the probate estate, less liens and encumbrances, is not more than $45,000 plus exempt property, allowances and certain costs, the personal representative may publish notice to creditors and then distribute directly without the full process. The same summary procedure is available when the appointed personal representative is the only heir or devisee. The estate is then closed by a sworn closing statement filed after the inventory and court fees. Threshold raised from $25,000 to $45,000 by 2025 Act No. 26, effective May 8, 2025. Source: S.C. Code §§ 62-3-1203, 62-3-1204
Small estate affidavit	If the whole probate estate, less liens and encumbrances, is $45,000 or less, a person entitled to the property may collect personal property (money owed, bank funds, stock, tangible items) with a sworn affidavit once 30 days have passed since the death and no personal representative application is pending. The affidavit must be approved by the probate judge and filed with the probate court. Real estate counts toward the limit but cannot be transferred by this affidavit. The limit rose from $25,000 to $45,000 under 2025 Act No. 26, effective May 8, 2025. Source: S.C. Code § 62-3-1201
Deadline for creditor claims	After notice to creditors is first published, creditors have eight months from the first publication to present claims. A creditor given written notice must present the claim by the earlier of one year after death or 60 days after the notice was delivered. Claims arising before death are barred in any case if not presented within one year after death. Source: S.C. Code §§ 62-3-801, 62-3-803
Who can be executor	The court appoints by priority: a person named in the will, then devisees, then the surviving spouse, then other heirs, and later a qualifying creditor. A person under 18 or found unsuitable by the court cannot serve. A personal representative appointed in the decedent's home state has priority for a nonresident's estate. Bond is not required when all heirs and devisees waive it or the will waives it, among other cases; if bond is required and no amount is set, it must be at least the estimated value of the personal estate. For a nonresident decedent, appointment is generally delayed until 30 days after death unless the home-state representative applies (§ 62-3-307). Source: S.C. Code §§ 62-3-203, 62-3-603, 62-3-604
Finding probate court records	The probate court has exclusive original jurisdiction over estates of decedents, including will contests and construction of wills, with some matters (such as formal probate and will construction) removable to circuit court on timely motion (S.C. Code 62-1-302). The South Carolina Judicial Branch's Case Records Search links to each county's Public Index for trial court records; the page does not list probate court records among them. Case search: https://www.sccourts.org/case-records-search/ Source: S.C. Code 62-1-302; South Carolina Judicial Branch, Case Records Search

Financial power of attorney	Under South Carolina's Uniform Power of Attorney Act, a power of attorney must be signed by the principal, witnessed with the same formality as a will (two witnesses), and acknowledged or proved like a deed. It is durable unless it says it ends on incapacity. For an agent to act after the principal becomes incapacitated, the power of attorney must be recorded like a deed in the county where the principal lives. The Act does not set out a statutory form for creating the power of attorney. Source: S.C. Code §§ 62-8-104, 62-8-105, 62-8-109
Health care directive	A health care power of attorney must be dated and signed by the principal and by at least two witnesses who meet the qualification rules (for example, not certain relatives, not the attending physician or that physician's employee, not financially responsible for the principal's care, and no more than one employee of the treating facility). A statutory form is provided. A separate living will (Declaration of a Desire for a Natural Death) is made under the Death with Dignity Act, Title 44, Chapter 77. Source: S.C. Code §§ 62-5-503, 62-5-504, 62-5-509, 62-5-517
Official power of attorney forms	South Carolina's Uniform Power of Attorney Act (S.C. Code Title 62, Article 8) does not include a statutory financial power of attorney form; it provides only an optional form an agent may use to certify facts about a power of attorney (62-8-119(f)). A power of attorney must be signed by the principal (or by another person in the principal's presence at the principal's direction), attested with the same formalities and witness requirements as a will in South Carolina, and acknowledged or proved under Section 30-5-30 (62-8-105). For health care, the Probate Code sets out a "Health Care Power of Attorney (S.C. Statutory Form)"; documents executed on or after January 1, 2007 must be substantially in that form. It is not valid unless two persons sign as witnesses who saw the principal sign or acknowledge the signature. Witnesses cannot include the principal's spouse, close relatives and their spouses, anyone financially responsible for the principal's medical care, heirs or will and life insurance beneficiaries, the named agents, the principal's physician or the physician's employees, or anyone with a claim against the estate; if the principal is a patient in a health facility, no more than one witness may be a facility employee. Notarization of the health care form is optional. Health care form: https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t62c005.php Source: S.C. Code 62-8-105, 62-8-119; S.C. Code Title 62, Article 5, Part 5 (Health Care Power of Attorney)

Living will / advance directive	South Carolina's living will is the 'Declaration of a Desire for a Natural Death' under the Death with Dignity Act. It must be substantially in the statutory form (S.C. Code § 44-77-50), dated and signed by the declarant in the presence of an officer authorized to administer oaths (such as a notary) and two witnesses (one of whom may be the notary). The witnesses state in an affidavit that they are not related to the declarant by blood, marriage or adoption, not directly financially responsible for the declarant's medical care, not entitled to any part of the estate, not a beneficiary of the declarant's life insurance, and the statute limits how many may be employees of the treating facility. It applies when the declarant has a terminal condition or is permanently unconscious. Source: S.C. Code §§ 44-77-40, 44-77-50
Medical power of attorney	South Carolina uses a health care power of attorney. It must be dated and signed by the principal and by at least two qualified witnesses (for example, not certain relatives, not the attending physician or that physician's employee, not financially responsible for the principal's care, and no more than one employee of the treating facility). A statutory form is provided. A document with the principal's signature, two qualified witnesses and a notary's attestation, naming the agent and the decisions covered, is deemed to comply. Source: S.C. Code §§ 62-5-503, 62-5-504, 62-5-517
Revocable living trust	South Carolina has adopted the South Carolina Trust Code (S.C. Code § 62-7-101 et seq.), based on the Uniform Trust Code. A trust is created only if the settlor has capacity, indicates an intention to create the trust, the trust has a definite beneficiary (or is a charitable, animal-care or noncharitable-purpose trust), the trustee has duties to perform, and the same person is not the sole trustee and sole beneficiary. A trust need not be in writing, but an oral trust can be proved only by clear and convincing evidence. A revocable living trust may be created by a declaration of trust or by transferring property, and is not invalid because the settlor keeps control (such as a right to revoke). Unless the terms expressly make the trust irrevocable, the settlor may revoke or amend it (for instruments signed on or after the Code's effective date). Property held in the trust passes under its terms without probate; assets left in the decedent's own name may still need probate. Source: S.C. Code §§ 62-7-101, 62-7-402, 62-7-407, 62-7-602
Ways to avoid probate	Non-probate transfers available in South Carolina: (1) No transfer-on-death deed for real estate; joint ownership with survivorship can pass real estate outside probate. (2) Single- and multiple-party bank accounts, including P.O.D. accounts, using the statutory account form (S.C. Code § 62-6-101 et seq., esp. § 62-6-104). (3) Transfer on death (TOD) designations on vehicles, mobile homes, watercraft and outboard motors titled by SCDMV or DNR (S.C. Code § 62-6-401). (4) Transfer-on-death registration of securities (Uniform Transfer on Death Security Registration Act, S.C. Code § 35-6-10 et seq.). (5) Small estate affidavit for probate estates of $45,000 or less, approved by the probate judge (S.C. Code § 62-3-1201). (6) Revocable living trust (South Carolina Trust Code). TOD securities: https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t35c006.php Source: S.C. Code §§ 62-6-104, 62-6-401, 35-6-10, 62-3-1201

Executor's duties	Main duties and deadlines for a South Carolina personal representative: qualify by filing any required bond and a statement accepting the duties; within 30 days after appointment, give information of the appointment to the heirs and devisees; upon appointment, publish a notice to creditors once a week for three successive weeks in a county newspaper, requiring claims within eight months after the first publication (claims are in any event barred one year after death); within 90 days after appointment, prepare and file with the court an inventory and appraisement of probate property at date-of-death fair market value and mail a copy to the heirs and devisees; allow or disallow and pay claims; and then file a full accounting, a proposal for distribution and a petition for settlement of the estate with proof of publication of the creditor notice. Source: S.C. Code §§ 62-3-601, 62-3-705, 62-3-706, 62-3-801, 62-3-803, 62-3-1001
Letters testamentary	The county probate court issues letters to the personal representative. Applicants file an application for informal probate and appointment (the original will must be in the court's possession for informal probate) or a summons and petition for a formal testacy or appointment proceeding. Priority goes to the person named in the will, then devisees, the surviving spouse, other heirs, and later a qualifying creditor. Before receiving letters, the personal representative files any required bond and a statement of acceptance of the duties. Bond is not required when the will or all heirs and devisees waive it, among other cases. Probate or appointment generally cannot begin more than ten years after death. SCDMV and others accept the probate court's certificate of appointment. Source: S.C. Code §§ 62-3-108, 62-3-203, 62-3-301, 62-3-601, 62-3-603
Affidavit / determination of heirship	No statute provides an affidavit of heirship for real estate. Heirs are determined by the probate court: a formal proceeding may ask for an order that the decedent died intestate (which determines the heirs) or probate a will, after notice and hearing. The small estate affidavit cannot transfer real estate. Source: S.C. Code §§ 62-3-401, 62-3-1201
Transferring a car after death	SCDMV rules: if the title has a Transfer on Death designation, the surviving beneficiary presents a death certificate showing the beneficiary survived all owners and follows the normal titling process. If the title lists owners with an 'or' relationship, the surviving owner may act as if the deceased owner were not on the title; with an 'and' relationship, the survivor must follow the probate court's direction. A personal representative presents the probate court certificate of appointment and signs the title as seller with '(PR)' beside the name (or also as buyer to title it in the PR's name). If you are not on the title, the probate court must direct SCDMV, either through a PR or a small estate affidavit issued by the court (which only allows titling in the named person's name). SCDMV generally does not accept wills for titles. Source: S.C. Code § 62-6-401; SCDMV, Inheriting a Vehicle

South Carolina Wills, Probate and Estate Law

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