South Carolina Estate Planning Law: The Complete Attorney’s Guide

If you live in Charleston, Greenville, Columbia, or elsewhere in South Carolina, a useful estate plan answers four practical questions: who should care for minor children, who should manage an inheritance for them, who can make financial and medical decisions during incapacity, and which assets should pass through Probate Court. For parents, the guardian and trustee do not have to be the same person, and a trust can hold a child’s inheritance beyond age 18 with distributions at selected ages or milestones. This guide explains the governing South Carolina statutes and links to the official code so you can verify the rules. To compare planning options, review revocable living trusts and flat-fee estate planning, or schedule a consultation.

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South Carolina’s Probate Court: the defining structural fact

South Carolina gives its county Probate Courts jurisdiction over decedents’ estates, protected persons, and trusts as specified in S.C. Code § 62-1-302. For an estate, venue generally follows the decedent’s domicile. That court appoints the personal representative, receives required filings, and resolves contested probate issues. The correct county and procedure can change when a decedent lived elsewhere, owned property in multiple states, or left competing instruments, so those facts should be reviewed before filing.

If a South Carolinian dies without a will (S.C. Code §§ 62-2-101 — 62-2-114)

Part 1 of Article 2 of the Probate Code controls when there is no valid will. SC follows the UPC’s “single-pool” approach: the probate estate is treated as one bucket rather than carved up between real and personal property. That is structurally different from many older states (which still treat realty separately) and is one of the cleanest examples of SC’s UPC heritage in everyday practice.

Spouse, no descendants

The surviving spouse takes the entire intestate estate. Parents and siblings of the decedent take nothing under intestacy when there is a spouse and no descendants — a result that occasionally surprises families.

Spouse plus descendants

The split is 50/50 — half to the surviving spouse, half to the decedent’s descendants by representation — regardless of the number of children. There is no $60,000 first-cut for the spouse, no “spouse plus one child” versus “spouse plus two children” distinction. One child or four children, the surviving spouse still takes one-half. That is a deliberate UPC simplification and a clean point of contrast for clients who have lived in states with more layered rules.

Descendants but no spouse, and the remoter takers

With no surviving spouse, descendants take by representation. If there are no descendants, the statute moves to parents, then descendants of parents, then grandparents and their descendants, and ultimately to the State if no statutory taker exists. Under S.C. Code § 62-2-106, the estate is divided at the nearest generation containing a surviving heir or a deceased person who left surviving descendants; each surviving heir at that level takes a share, and each deceased person’s share is divided among that person’s descendants in the same manner.

Heir property and the practical SC problem

Repeated intestate transfers can create “heirs’ property”: family land owned by multiple cotenants, sometimes across several generations. South Carolina’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act, S.C. Code §§ 15-61-310 et seq., adds valuation, notice, buyout, and sale protections in qualifying partition cases. A will and coordinated title planning can reduce future fractional ownership, but an existing heirs’ property problem may require separate title, probate, or partition work.

SC wills: Article 2, Part 5 — and the strictness on handwritten documents

Part 5 of Article 2 governs South Carolina wills. The baseline rule in S.C. Code § 62-2-502 requires a writing, the testator’s signature (or a directed signature made in the testator’s presence), and signatures from at least two people who witnessed the signing or the testator’s acknowledgment.

§ 62-2-502: the execution formalities

A South Carolina will ordinarily must be in writing, signed by the testator or by another person in the testator’s presence and at the testator’s direction, and signed by at least two witnesses. Each witness must have witnessed either the signing or the testator’s acknowledgment of the signature or the will. Those are execution requirements; notarization is addressed separately through the self-proving procedure.

Unwitnessed handwritten wills: the SC rule and the foreign-will exception

A will made by a South Carolina resident under South Carolina law ordinarily does not become valid merely because it is handwritten; it still must satisfy the two-witness rule in § 62-2-502. But the analysis does not stop there for a will executed elsewhere. Under S.C. Code § 62-2-505, a written will can be valid if its execution complied with the law of the place of execution or the testator’s domicile at execution or death. A handwritten out-of-state will therefore needs a choice-of-law review rather than an automatic yes or no.

§ 62-2-503: the self-proving affidavit

Under S.C. Code § 62-2-503, a will may be executed, attested, and made self-proved at the same signing, or an already attested will may later be made self-proved. The procedure uses the testator’s acknowledgment and the affidavit of at least one witness before an officer authorized to administer oaths. Self-proof supplies evidence of due execution for probate; it does not eliminate the two subscribing witnesses required by § 62-2-502.

Revocation and the effect of divorce

Revocation is by a later instrument executed with will formalities, or by a physical act done with intent to revoke. Article 2 also revokes dispositions and fiduciary appointments in favor of a former spouse by operation of law upon dissolution of marriage — a quiet trap when a divorced testator believes the will still controls and the operative provisions have actually been struck.

The South Carolina Trust Code (Title 62, Article 7)

SC adopted the Uniform Trust Code as Article 7. Most of the SC Trust Code tracks the UTC verbatim, with state-specific drift in a few places — most notably the treatment of trust modification and the trustee’s duty to inform and report. The practical centerpiece for most clients is the revocable living trust.

§ 62-7-401 — what it takes to create one

A trust may be created by transferring property to a trustee, by a signed declaration that the owner holds identifiable property as trustee, or by exercising a power of appointment in favor of a trustee. S.C. Code §§ 62-7-401 and 62-7-402 also address capacity, intent, beneficiaries or permitted purposes, trustee duties, and public-policy limits. A trust of real property must be evidenced by a signed writing; personal-property trusts can be proved under the statute’s clear-and-convincing-evidence standard.

§ 62-7-602 — the revocability presumption

For a trust instrument governed by the current Trust Code, S.C. Code § 62-7-602 provides that the settlor may revoke or amend the trust unless its terms expressly make it irrevocable. The trust’s stated method controls when made exclusive; otherwise, the statute supplies alternative methods and evidentiary rules. Older instruments and multi-settlor trusts require separate analysis under the statute.

Putting assets into the trust

A revocable trust controls an asset only after ownership or beneficiary arrangements are coordinated with the plan. South Carolina real property may be transferred by a properly prepared and recorded deed; banks and brokerages use their own retitling and beneficiary procedures; and some personal property may be addressed by assignment. Our trust engagements include deed work when appropriate and written funding instructions. The client completes the account, beneficiary, and institutional paperwork required by each financial company. See trust funding for the practical workflow.

Trustee duties under § 62-7-813

S.C. Code § 62-7-813 addresses notices, information requests, and reports to beneficiaries. Which duties apply can depend on the trust terms, whether the trust remains revocable, and a person’s status under the Trust Code. Reporting language should therefore be drafted with the trust’s beneficiary structure in mind rather than copied from a generic form.

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SC Uniform Power of Attorney Act (Title 62, Article 8)

Article 8 of Title 62 is SC’s version of the Uniform Power of Attorney Act. The substantive structure — durability presumption, statutory categories, “hot powers” requiring express grant — tracks the uniform model. The execution rules are where SC stakes out its own position.

Execution, acknowledgment, and recordation after incapacity

Under S.C. Code § 62-8-105, a South Carolina power of attorney must be signed by the principal, attested with the same witness formalities as a South Carolina will, and acknowledged or proved as § 30-5-30 provides. Section 62-8-106 recognizes certain powers executed elsewhere if they complied with the governing jurisdiction’s law or the federal military-POA rule. Recordation has a separate function: after the principal becomes incapacitated, § 62-8-109(c) bars the agent from exercising authority until the power is recorded like a deed in the county of the principal’s residence, or, for an out-of-state principal, a county where the principal owns property.

Durability presumption and hot powers

A power of attorney created under current Article 8 is durable unless it expressly provides that incapacity terminates it. Certain high-impact powers—including making gifts, changing survivorship rights or beneficiary designations, and creating, amending, revoking, or terminating a trust—require an express grant under S.C. Code § 62-8-201. Older forms should be reviewed under the law that governed when they were executed rather than assumed to have the same default terms.

Healthcare authority and the SC Death With Dignity Act

South Carolina separates delegated healthcare authority from a declaration about end-of-life treatment. A healthcare power of attorney under S.C. Code §§ 62-5-500 et seq. names an agent and, under § 62-5-517, is signed by the principal, witnessed by at least two qualified people, and attested by a notary. The Death With Dignity Declaration under Title 44, Chapter 77 uses its own statutory form and eligibility rules. Section 44-77-40 requires the declarant to sign before an officer authorized to administer oaths and two qualified witnesses, with the accompanying witness affidavit sworn as the statute specifies. See living wills for the document-level walkthrough.

Inside SC probate (S.C. Code § 62-3-101 et seq.)

Probate generally proceeds in the Probate Court for the county where the decedent was domiciled. Article 3 of Title 62 governs appointment, creditor notice, inventory, claims, distributions, and closing. Estates involving out-of-state property, contested instruments, or unclear domicile can require additional proceedings or venue analysis.

Qualifying the personal representative

The person named in the will—or an applicant with statutory priority when there is no controlling appointment—asks the Probate Court to open the estate and appoint a personal representative. Bond depends on the will, the statute, and the court’s order. Once appointed, the personal representative receives authority to collect and administer estate assets subject to Article 3’s duties, required notices, filings, and court supervision.

Creditor claims under § 62-3-801

Under S.C. Code § 62-3-801, the personal representative generally publishes notice once a week for three successive weeks, directing creditors to present claims within eight months after first publication. A mailed or delivered notice may instead require a creditor to present the claim by the earlier of one year after death or 60 days after that notice. Claims analysis can also involve other limitation and barring provisions, so the applicable deadline should be calculated from the actual notice history.

Inventory, accountings, and final settlement

S.C. Code §§ 62-3-704 and 62-3-706 require the personal representative to file an inventory and appraisement within 90 days after appointment unless the court extends the time. Closing generally requires completion of the applicable creditor and claim procedures, an accounting and proposal for distribution unless properly waived, notice to interested persons, and a settlement order. The actual duration depends on claims, taxes, disputes, asset sales, and property in other states; the eight-month publication period means a routine estate is not an immediate process.

Summary administration and small-estate paths

As amended effective May 8, 2025, S.C. Code § 62-3-1201 permits collection of qualifying personal property by affidavit 30 days after death when the value of the entire probate estate, wherever located and less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $45,000, no application or petition to appoint a personal representative is pending or granted, and the remaining statutory conditions are met. Section 62-3-1203 provides separate summary-administration routes for qualifying estates and certain sole-heir or sole-devisee situations. See the probate overview for context.

Death taxes that may (and mostly don’t) reach an SC estate

South Carolina imposes no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax. Federal estate and gift-tax rules can still apply, and the federal exclusion amount changes with federal law and inflation adjustments. For the current figure and filing rules, use the IRS estate-tax guidance and coordinate with a tax professional when an estate may approach the threshold or when portability is relevant.

Remote planning, followed by in-person signing

Consultation, design, and document review are handled remotely, usually through two Microsoft Teams meetings plus client homework. Final estate-plan signing is coordinated in person with an experienced mobile notary who comes to the client’s home. That distinction matters: South Carolina’s Electronic Notary Public Act authorizes notarization of electronic records, but § 26-2-50 requires the principal to appear in person before the electronic notary. A will, financial power of attorney, healthcare power of attorney, and Death With Dignity declaration also have their own witness and acknowledgment requirements. We prepare signing instructions for the specific documents rather than describing the entire package as remotely notarized.

SC elective share: a flat third (S.C. Code §§ 62-2-201 et seq.)

Under S.C. Code § 62-2-201, the surviving spouse of a person domiciled in South Carolina generally may elect to take one-third of the decedent’s probate estate. Section 62-2-205 requires a summons and petition within the latest of eight months after death, six months after informal or formal probate of the will, or 30 days after service of a proceeding to set aside, modify, or vacate probate. Section 62-2-202 ordinarily limits the calculation to the probate estate, but expressly preserves the exception for a revocable trust found illusory under § 62-7-401(c).

How the flat percentage interacts with planning

Many beneficiary-designated and jointly owned assets pass outside probate, but they should not be treated as an automatic way to defeat a spouse’s statutory rights. S.C. Code § 62-7-401(c) allows trust assets to be included for elective-share calculation when a revocable inter vivos trust is found illusory, while § 62-2-204 sets requirements for a valid written waiver. Blended-family, premarital-agreement, and spouse-disinheritance planning should be modeled across probate assets, nonprobate transfers, trust terms, and any waiver rather than from the will alone.

Trust or will: which one fits an SC plan

For parents of young children, a will nominates the guardian and a trust can name a separate trustee to manage money for the children, pay for approved needs, and delay outright control beyond age 18. A typical trust-based plan also coordinates a pour-over will, financial and healthcare powers of attorney, a Death With Dignity Declaration, deeds when appropriate, and beneficiary designations. A revocable living trust may be a strong fit when one or more of the following apply:

• Real estate in more than one state, where properly funded trust ownership may reduce the need for ancillary probate in another state.
• A privacy preference, because assets administered under a funded trust generally do not require the same Probate Court inventory and accounting process as probate assets.
• Young beneficiaries who should receive money in stages or through a trustee instead of receiving an unrestricted inheritance at 18.
• A blended family where the order, timing, or conditions of distributions need careful coordination.
• Incapacity planning that gives a successor trustee authority over assets already held in the trust, alongside financial and healthcare powers of attorney.

The decision usually turns on cost-of-administration and privacy, not tax — see wills and trusts for the cost side, and probate for what Probate Court actually does to a plain-will estate.

Five South Carolina planning failures to avoid

Each of these problems can keep a plan from working as intended. The safer approach is to coordinate execution, ownership, beneficiary designations, and spouse protections before the documents are signed.

1. Assuming handwriting makes an in-state will valid. A South Carolina will ordinarily still needs the two witness signatures required by § 62-2-502. A will executed elsewhere should be reviewed under § 62-2-505 before anyone assumes it is valid or invalid.
2. Using a POA with defective execution or missing incapacity recordation. Current South Carolina execution follows § 62-8-105. After the principal becomes incapacitated, the agent cannot exercise authority until the POA is recorded as § 62-8-109(c) requires.
3. Signing a trust and never coordinating asset ownership. Deeds, institution-specific retitling, beneficiary designations, and assignments must be matched to the trust and the asset; the trust document alone does not move every asset.
4. Assuming the will controls beneficiary-designated assets. Retirement accounts, life insurance, and transfer-on-death or payable-on-death accounts generally pass under the governing contract or designation, so they must be reviewed with the will and trust.
5. Planning for a spouse from the will alone. The elective-share statutes, any valid waiver, nonprobate transfers, and the illusory-trust rule can all affect the result. A deliberately funded trust should not be described as an automatic elective-share workaround.

Working with Ryan on your South Carolina estate plan

I’m Ryan Duffy, licensed in South Carolina, North Carolina, and New Jersey. South Carolina planning is handled through two Microsoft Teams meetings, focused client homework, attorney drafting and review, and an in-home signing coordinated with a mobile notary. Most plans are completed in about 4–6 weeks, depending on how quickly decisions and requested information are provided. Trust-based plans for married couples generally range from $3,500–$5,500 based on the clients’ situation and include the trust and companion documents, deed work when appropriate, funding instructions, and mobile-notary signing assistance. Clients complete financial-institution and beneficiary paperwork. We also talk through guardian and trustee choices for children; those roles often should not be assigned automatically to the same person. Review flat-fee pricing or schedule a consultation. Local guides include Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Columbia, Greenville, Fort Mill, and Hilton Head.

South Carolina estate planning FAQs

Ready to put a plan in place?

Our trust-based plans for married couples generally range from $3,500–$5,500. The process includes two Microsoft Teams meetings, focused homework, and in-person signing coordinated with a mobile notary. Most plans take about 4–6 weeks, depending on decisions and requested information.

You do not need to have your guardian or trustee choices finalized before we meet. We will talk through those decisions together.

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Further reading for SC clients: durable power of attorney, funding your trust, HIPAA releases and ancillary documents, flat-fee pricing, the virtual planning process, how South Carolina signing works, and what to look for in an SC estate planning attorney. Closest local pages by region: Charleston and Mount Pleasant for the Lowcountry, Greenville for the Upstate, Columbia for the Midlands, Bluffton and Hilton Head for the southern coast. Looking for the NC version? North Carolina estate planning law.