Free South Carolina Last Will and Testament
Build a complete South Carolina will in minutes — free, no account. Fill in your details and download a ready-to-sign PDF with the protective clauses built in and South Carolina's correct signing requirements.
A free, ready-to-sign will — but not legal advice.
This builds a complete South Carolina will with the protective clauses most templates skip (survivorship period, residuary, minor's trust, executor powers). It becomes legally valid only when you sign it correctly (see the signing steps below). For a large or blended estate, have an attorney review it. RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm.
About you
Children
Name all your children, even any you are not leaving anything to — naming them prevents an 'omitted child' claim.
Who inherits everything else (your residuary estate)
The catch-all gift of everything not specifically given. Shares should total 100%.
Specific gifts (optional)
Particular items or sums to particular people.
Executor (the person who carries out your will)
Options
Naming them states the omission is intentional. Note: you generally cannot fully disinherit a spouse (see the warnings).
Before you sign — South Carolina notes
Choose 2 witnesses who are adults and who do NOT inherit under this Will. A beneficiary (or a beneficiary's spouse) should never witness your Will.
Add at least one residuary beneficiary with a share above 0%. Without a residuary gift, everything not specifically given would pass by intestacy (state default rules), defeating the point of the Will.
To make this Will valid in South Carolina: A valid South Carolina will must be in writing, signed by the testator (or in the testator's name by another at the testator's direction and in the testator's presence), and signed by at least two witnesses who each witnessed either the signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will (§ 62-2-502). Notably the witnesses need not sign in each other's presence. South Carolina does not recognize unwitnessed holographic wills. Notarization is not required for validity, but the will can be made self-proved under § 62-2-503 — either simultaneously at execution (Form A) or by a later acknowledgment-and-affidavit (Form B) — using the statutory affidavit before a notary; for self-proving, at least one witness's affidavit (plus the testator's acknowledgment) is required.
This is a do-it-yourself Will for a straightforward estate. If you have a large or blended estate, business interests, tax concerns, a special-needs beneficiary, or want to disinherit close family, have an attorney review it. This is not legal advice and RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm.
Or email yourself a copy (PDF)
Last Will and Testament of [YOUR FULL NAME]
ARTICLE I — DECLARATION
I, [YOUR FULL NAME], a resident of [CITY], [COUNTY] County, South Carolina, being of full legal age to make a will and of sound mind and memory, declare this to be my Last Will and Testament, and I revoke all wills and codicils I have previously made.
ARTICLE II — FAMILY
I am not married.
If I have not named or provided for a child or other descendant in this Will, that omission is intentional and not the result of accident or mistake.
ARTICLE III — PAYMENT OF DEBTS, EXPENSES, AND TAXES
I direct my Executor to pay my legally enforceable debts, the expenses of my last illness and funeral, the costs of administering my estate, and any estate or inheritance taxes payable by reason of my death, out of the residue of my estate, without apportionment.
ARTICLE IV — TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY
I give my tangible personal property (household goods, furniture, vehicles, jewelry, collections, and personal effects not otherwise specifically given) to my residuary beneficiaries as they agree, or as my Executor determines if they cannot agree.
I may leave a separate written memorandum, signed and dated by me, disposing of items of tangible personal property. South Carolina law allows such a memorandum to be given effect, and I direct my Executor to honor the most recent such memorandum I leave.
ARTICLE V — RESIDUARY ESTATE
I give all the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate to [RESIDUARY BENEFICIARY].
If no beneficiary named in this article survives me, my residuary estate shall pass to my heirs at law under the intestacy laws of my state.
ARTICLE VI — SURVIVORSHIP
Except as otherwise provided, a beneficiary must survive me by 30 days to receive any gift under this Will. A beneficiary who does not survive me by 30 days shall be treated as having predeceased me. This protects my estate from passing through the estate of a beneficiary who dies shortly after me.
ARTICLE VII — APPOINTMENT OF EXECUTOR
I nominate [EXECUTOR NAME] as Executor of this Will.
I direct that my Executor serve without bond and, to the fullest extent allowed by law, without court supervision (independent administration). My Executor shall have all powers granted to executors and personal representatives under the law of my state, including the power to sell, lease, invest, and distribute estate property, to pay debts and taxes, and to settle claims, all without prior court approval, as my Executor deems to be in the best interest of my estate.
ARTICLE VIII — DIGITAL ASSETS
I authorize my Executor to access, manage, distribute, and dispose of my digital assets and electronic communications, and to act as my fiduciary under the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (or its equivalent in my state), with full authority to consent to a custodian's disclosure of the content and records of my electronic communications and accounts.
ARTICLE IX — SIMULTANEOUS DEATH
If any beneficiary and I die under circumstances in which the order of our deaths cannot be established, that beneficiary shall be deemed to have predeceased me. If my spouse and I die under such circumstances, my spouse shall be deemed to have predeceased me.
ARTICLE X — GENERAL PROVISIONS
This Will shall be governed by the laws of the State of South Carolina.
If any provision of this Will is held invalid, the remaining provisions shall remain in full effect. Words of one gender include the other, and the singular includes the plural, as the context requires. The headings are for convenience only and do not affect the meaning of this Will.
EXECUTION
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I sign this Will, consisting of the foregoing pages, on this _____ day of ____________, 20____, at [CITY], South Carolina.
____________________________________
[YOUR FULL NAME], Testator
ATTESTATION — The foregoing instrument was signed by the Testator and declared to be the Testator's Will in our presence, and we, at the Testator's request and in the Testator's presence and in the presence of each other, sign below as witnesses, believing the Testator to be of sound mind and under no constraint or undue influence.
Witness 1: ____________________________ Address: ____________________________
Witness 2: ____________________________ Address: ____________________________
SELF-PROVING AFFIDAVIT (S.C. Code § 62-2-503) — sign this part before a notary to make probate easier:
FORM A — Simultaneous execution and self-proving (signed at execution before a notary):
I, [TESTATOR NAME], the testator, sign my name to this instrument this ___ day of ____, 20__, and being first duly sworn, do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that I sign and execute this instrument as my last will and that I sign it willingly (or willingly direct another to sign for me), that I execute it as my free and voluntary act for the purposes therein expressed, and that I am eighteen years of age or older (or if under the age of eighteen, am married or emancipated as decreed by a family court), of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.
___________________ Testator
We, [WITNESS 1 NAME] and [WITNESS 2 NAME], the witnesses, sign our names to this instrument, and at least one of us, being first duly sworn, does hereby declare, generally and to the undersigned authority, that the testator signs and executes this instrument as his last will and that he signs it willingly (or willingly directs another to sign for him), and that each of us, in the presence and hearing of the testator, hereby signs this will as witness to the testator's signing, and that to the best of our knowledge the testator is eighteen years of age or older (or if under the age of eighteen, was married or emancipated as decreed by a family court), of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.
___________________ Witness ___________________ Witness
The State of ____ County of ____
Subscribed, sworn to and acknowledged before me by [TESTATOR NAME], the testator, and subscribed and sworn to before me by [WITNESS NAMES], witness(es), this ___ day of ____.
(SEAL) ___________________ (Signed) ___________________ (official capacity of officer)
FORM B — Separate/subsequent acknowledgment + affidavit:
The State of ____ County of ____
We, [TESTATOR NAME] and [WITNESS NAME], the testator and at least one of the witnesses, respectively, whose names are signed to the attached or foregoing instrument, being first duly sworn, do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that the testator signed and executed the instrument as his last will and that he had signed willingly (or willingly directed another to sign for him), and that he executed it as his free and voluntary act for the purposes therein expressed, and that each of the witnesses, in the presence and hearing of the testator, signed the will as witness and that to the best of his knowledge the testator was at that time eighteen years of age or older (or if under the age of eighteen, was married or emancipated as decreed by a family court), of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.
___________________ Testator ___________________ Witness
Subscribed, sworn to and acknowledged before me by [TESTATOR NAME], the testator, and subscribed and sworn to before me by [WITNESS NAME], witness, this ___ day of ____.
(SEAL) ___________________ (Signed) ___________________ (official capacity of officer)
How to Sign Your Will in South Carolina
A valid South Carolina will must be in writing, signed by the testator (or in the testator's name by another at the testator's direction and in the testator's presence), and signed by at least two witnesses who each witnessed either the signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will (§ 62-2-502). Notably the witnesses need not sign in each other's presence. South Carolina does not recognize unwitnessed holographic wills. Notarization is not required for validity, but the will can be made self-proved under § 62-2-503 — either simultaneously at execution (Form A) or by a later acknowledgment-and-affidavit (Form B) — using the statutory affidavit before a notary; for self-proving, at least one witness's affidavit (plus the testator's acknowledgment) is required.
South Carolina requires 2 witnesses: The will must be (1) in writing; (2) signed by the testator (or signed in the testator's name by another in the testator's presence and by the testator's direction); and (3) signed by at least two individuals, each of whom witnessed either the signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will (S.C. Code § 62-2-502).. Your will does not need to be notarized to be valid.
Choose witnesses who are adults and who do not inherit under your will. A beneficiary should never witness your will. Then sign the self-proving affidavit (S.C. Code § 62-2-503) in front of a notary. That sworn statement lets the court accept your will without tracking down your witnesses later, which speeds up probate.
Can You Use a Handwritten (Holographic) Will in South Carolina?
No. South Carolina does not recognize holographic (handwritten, unwitnessed) wills — a handwritten note will not work. Your will must be typed and signed in front of 2 witnesses, which is exactly what this generator produces.
Spousal and Family Protections in South Carolina
Can you disinherit your spouse? You CANNOT fully disinherit a spouse. A surviving spouse may elect to take a flat ONE-THIRD (1/3) of the decedent's PROBATE estate — NOT a UPC augmented-estate sliding scale. (South Carolina's elective share reaches the probate estate; it does not sweep in nonprobate transfers the way the full UPC augmented-estate model does, so funded revocable trusts/nonprobate transfers can reduce the base.)
Children born after your will: If the testator fails to provide for a child born or adopted AFTER the will is executed, the omitted child takes an intestate-equivalent share UNLESS: (a) the will shows the omission was intentional; (b) when the will was executed the testator devised substantially all the estate to the omitted child's other parent; or (c) the testator provided for the child by transfer outside the will intended in lieu of a testamentary gift. S.C. Code Ann. § 62-2-302. This is why the generator has you name your children and states that any omission is intentional.
If a beneficiary dies before you: If a devisee who is a grandparent, or a descendant of a grandparent, of the testator predeceases the testator leaving descendants who survive, those descendants take by representation (per stirpes) — unless the will provides otherwise. NOTE the SC twist: under § 62-2-603 words of SURVIVORSHIP ('if he survives me,' 'to my surviving children') are sufficient to show a contrary intent and DEFEAT anti-lapse. Generator should include an express alternate-taker/survivorship clause to control disposition deliberately. The generator's "per stirpes" option and survivorship clause work alongside this rule.
Survivorship, No-Contest, and Digital Assets
Survivorship: South Carolina has adopted the 120-hour (USDA) survival requirement (S.C. Code Ann. § 62-2-104 for intestacy / § 62-2-702 type rule and the Uniform Simultaneous Death provisions). For devises, a non-surviving beneficiary triggers lapse/anti-lapse. Best practice (and generator default) is an express survivorship period of 30–60 days, which SC honors. The generator builds in a 30-to-60-day survivorship period regardless.
No-contest clauses: No-contest (in terrorem) clauses are enforceable in South Carolina, but the forfeiture is NOT enforced where the contestant had PROBABLE CAUSE for instituting the proceeding. S.C. Code Ann. § 62-3-905. Generator may include a no-contest clause but should warn it will not bar a probable-cause contest.
Digital assets: South Carolina has adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, so your executor can manage your online accounts and digital property — the generator includes a clause granting that authority.
Personal-property list: South Carolina lets you leave a separate signed list (a "memorandum") giving away specific personal items, so you can update who gets what without rewriting your will.
What Happens If You Die Without a Will in South Carolina?
South Carolina uses a simple, flat rule: if you have any children, your surviving spouse inherits one-half of the estate and your children divide the other half — no matter whether the children are also the spouse's. If you leave a spouse but no children, the spouse inherits everything.
- Spouse, no children: Entire intestate estate. If there is no surviving issue of the decedent, the surviving spouse takes everything (parents do not take when a spouse survives).
- Spouse and shared children: Spouse takes 1/2 of the intestate estate; the decedent's children/issue take the other 1/2 by representation. South Carolina makes NO distinction for joint vs. step children — the spouse always gets one-half when any issue survive.
- Spouse and a child from another relationship: Same as joint children — spouse takes 1/2 and the issue take the other 1/2. South Carolina does not reduce or change the spouse's one-half share when stepchildren are involved.
- Children, no spouse: No spouse: the whole estate passes to the decedent's issue, by representation (per capita at each generation under § 62-2-106).
- No spouse or children: No spouse, no issue: to surviving parent(s) equally; then to siblings and their issue by representation; then split between paternal and maternal grandparents and their issue; then to next of kin; escheats to the state if no heirs.
Unmarried partners, friends, and stepchildren you have not adopted generally receive nothing under intestacy. A will is how you override these defaults. Source: S.C. Code Ann. §§ 62-2-102, 62-2-103.
Updating, Revoking, and Storing Your Will
Review your will after any big life change — marriage, divorce, a birth, a death, or a move to a new state. To change it, either sign a new will that revokes the old one (the cleanest option, and what this generator produces) or add a witnessed "codicil." Do not cross things out on a signed will — handwritten edits can invalidate it. Store the signed original somewhere safe and tell your executor where it is; a will that cannot be found is presumed revoked.
Common mistakes to avoid: using a beneficiary as a witness; forgetting a residuary clause (so part of the estate passes by intestacy); leaving a young child a lump sum outright at 18 instead of in trust; not naming a backup executor or guardian; and never actually signing the document. The generator above is built to avoid each of these.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a will made online valid in South Carolina?
Yes, if you sign it correctly. South Carolina requires 2 witnesses. The document this tool creates is a standard typed will; it becomes legally valid when you sign it following the steps above.
Does my South Carolina will need to be notarized?
No. South Carolina does not require your will to be notarized to be valid. Notarizing the separate self-proving affidavit is optional but makes probate easier.
How many witnesses does a South Carolina will need?
2 witnesses. The will must be (1) in writing; (2) signed by the testator (or signed in the testator's name by another in the testator's presence and by the testator's direction); and (3) signed by at least two individuals, each of whom witnessed either the signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will (S.C. Code § 62-2-502). They should be adults who do not inherit under the will.
Can I leave my spouse out of my South Carolina will?
You CANNOT fully disinherit a spouse. A surviving spouse may elect to take a flat ONE-THIRD (1/3) of the decedent's PROBATE estate — NOT a UPC augmented-estate sliding scale. (South Carolina's elective share reaches the probate estate; it does not sweep in nonprobate transfers the way the full UPC augmented-estate model does, so funded revocable trusts/nonprobate transfers can reduce the base.)
What happens if I die without a will in South Carolina?
South Carolina uses a simple, flat rule: if you have any children, your surviving spouse inherits one-half of the estate and your children divide the other half — no matter whether the children are also the spouse's. If you leave a spouse but no children, the spouse inherits everything.
Does a South Carolina will avoid probate?
No. A will still goes through probate — it directs how your estate is distributed and names your executor, but the court still supervises (often a simplified, independent administration). To avoid probate entirely, people use living trusts and beneficiary designations in addition to a will.
How old do I have to be to make a will in South Carolina?
Generally 18. An individual of sound mind who is not a minor (under 18) may make a will (S.C. Code § 62-2-501; minor defined in § 62-1-201(27)). The self-proving forms allow under-18 if married or emancipated by family court decree. You must also be of sound mind.
Can I write my will by hand in South Carolina?
No. South Carolina does not recognize handwritten, unwitnessed wills. Your will must be typed and properly witnessed.
Do I need a lawyer to make a will in South Carolina?
Not for a straightforward estate — a properly signed will is valid whether or not a lawyer drafts it. See an attorney if you have a large or blended estate, business interests, tax concerns, a special-needs beneficiary, or want to disinherit close family.
Is this really free?
Yes. The generator is free, requires no account, and runs entirely in your browser — your answers are not sent to a server. It is general information, not legal advice.
Disclaimer
This generator produces a general-purpose will for a straightforward estate and is not legal advice or a substitute for an attorney. Will and probate law changes; the South Carolina requirements here are current as of 2026-06-03. A will is only valid if signed and witnessed correctly. For a large, blended, or complex estate, tax planning, a special-needs beneficiary, or to disinherit close family, consult a South Carolina estate-planning attorney. RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm.
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