South Carolina Power of Attorney Laws: Durable, Medical, and Financial POA (2026)

South Carolina adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act, codified at S.C. Code Ann. 62-8-101 to 62-8-403, effective January 1, 2017. Under the act, every power of attorney created on or after that date is durable by default and survives the principal's incapacity unless the document says otherwise. South Carolina adds two requirements that set it apart from most UPOAA states: execution requires the same formalities as a will (the principal's signature plus two witnesses, acknowledged before a notary public or other authorized officer under S.C. Code Ann. 30-5-30); and, to act during the principal's incapacity, the agent must first record the document in the same manner as a deed in the county where the principal resides (typically with the register of deeds or clerk of court, depending on the county). Health care decisions require a separate document under S.C. Code Ann. 62-5-501 et seq.; a financial power of attorney does not cover medical choices.

What a Power of Attorney Does in South Carolina

A power of attorney is a written legal document in which a principal grants an agent authority to act on the principal's behalf in financial, legal, and property matters. The South Carolina Uniform Power of Attorney Act at S.C. Code Ann. 62-8-101 to 62-8-403 governs how that authority is created, what an agent may do, and when the authority ends.

The scope of the agent's authority depends entirely on what the principal grants in the document. A general power of attorney can cover bank accounts, real estate transactions, business operations, tax filings, insurance, and litigation. A limited power of attorney can restrict the agent to a single transaction or a narrow category of acts.

Once an agent accepts appointment under S.C. Code Ann. 62-8-113, the relationship is fiduciary. The agent must act in the principal's interest, not the agent's own, and is subject to a set of duties the statute spells out in detail. A power of attorney does not transfer the principal's property to the agent. The agent acts on behalf of the principal and is accountable for all transactions.

All authority under a financial power of attorney terminates at the principal's death. At that point, the personal representative of the estate takes over management of the principal's affairs. An agent who continues to act after learning of the principal's death faces liability under S.C. Code Ann. 62-8-110.

Durable Power of Attorney in South Carolina

Under S.C. Code Ann. 62-8-104, a power of attorney created after January 1, 2017 is durable by default. "Durable" means the authority continues in full force even if the principal later becomes incapacitated. A principal who wants the POA to terminate at incapacity must include explicit language to that effect.

Durability is defined in S.C. Code Ann. 62-8-102(2) as "not terminated by the principal's incapacity." This default removes a significant planning risk: a principal does not have to worry that failing to add durability language will leave an agent without authority during the exact circumstances the document was created to address.

South Carolina also permits springing powers of attorney. Under S.C. Code Ann. 62-8-109(a)(2), a POA can be drafted to take effect only upon a specified future event, including the principal's incapacity. For incapacity-triggered POAs, effectiveness requires a written determination of incapacity by a physician, licensed psychologist, attorney, court, or other governmental official authorized under S.C. Code Ann. 62-8-102(5).

The Recording Requirement for Incapacity

South Carolina adds a requirement found in very few other states. Under S.C. Code Ann. 62-8-109(c), after the principal's incapacity, an agent may exercise authority under the power of attorney only if the document has been recorded in the same manner as a deed in the county where the principal resides. In most counties, recording is done with the register of deeds; in counties that have not established a separate register of deeds office, the clerk of court performs the same function under S.C. Code Ann. 30-5-10. Recording may occur before or after the principal becomes incapacitated, but the agent has no legal authority to act during incapacity until the recording is complete.

Principals and agents who want uninterrupted access to authority should record the power of attorney with the register of deeds promptly after signing, rather than waiting until incapacity occurs. Recording must be done in the same manner as recording a deed: either with the register of deeds or the clerk of court, depending on the county (S.C. Code Ann. 30-5-10). If the principal resides outside South Carolina, the POA may be recorded in any South Carolina county where the principal's property is located.

If a recorded power of attorney is later revoked, the revocation must also be recorded in the same county as the original recording to be effective against third parties who are unaware of the revocation.

How to Create a Valid South Carolina Power of Attorney

S.C. Code Ann. 62-8-105 establishes the execution requirements for a South Carolina power of attorney. All three of the following elements are required:

1. Principal's signature. The principal must sign the document, or another individual may sign on behalf of and at the direction of the principal in the principal's presence.

2. Two witnesses. The document must be attested with the same formalities and witness requirements as a South Carolina will. Under S.C. Code Ann. 62-2-502, a will requires the signatures of at least two witnesses, each of whom witnessed either the signing or the principal's acknowledgment of the signature. The same two-witness requirement applies to a power of attorney.

3. Acknowledgment or proof. The document must be acknowledged or proved pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. 30-5-30. That statute permits acknowledgment before a notary public (with official seal), a clerk of court, a justice of the peace, a commissioner of deeds, or other authorized officer. A notary public is the most common choice in practice.

These three requirements mirror the formalities for recording a deed in South Carolina, which is consistent with the recording requirement in S.C. Code Ann. 62-8-109(c).

A photocopy or electronically transmitted copy of an original power of attorney has the same legal effect as the original under S.C. Code Ann. 62-8-106.

An out-of-state power of attorney is valid in South Carolina if it complied with the law of the state where it was executed and meets the requirements of S.C. Code Ann. 62-8-106(b). An out-of-state POA that was valid where executed may be recorded in South Carolina for purposes of the incapacity recording requirement, even if that state did not require the same acknowledgment formalities as South Carolina.

What a South Carolina Agent Can and Cannot Do

Agent Duties

An agent who accepts a South Carolina power of attorney takes on a fiduciary role with mandatory duties under S.C. Code Ann. 62-8-114:

• Act in accordance with the principal's reasonable expectations, to the extent actually known, and otherwise in the principal's best interest.
• Act loyally for the principal's benefit and only within the scope of granted authority.
• Act in good faith.
• Avoid conflicts of interest that would impair impartial decision-making on behalf of the principal.
• Exercise the care, competence, and diligence ordinarily exercised by agents in similar circumstances.
• Maintain records of all receipts, disbursements, and transactions made on the principal's behalf.
• Cooperate with any person authorized to make health care decisions for the principal.
• Attempt to preserve the principal's estate plan, to the extent consistent with the principal's best interest.

An agent who acts in good faith, within the scope of granted authority, and consistent with these duties is protected from personal liability even if the principal's estate declines in value, as long as the agent did not breach a duty.

Hot Powers Requiring Express Grant

S.C. Code Ann. 62-8-201(a) identifies twelve categories of authority that an agent may exercise only if the power of attorney document expressly grants that specific power. These are:

1. Create, amend, revoke, or terminate a trust.
2. Make a gift.
3. Create or change rights of survivorship.
4. Create or change a beneficiary designation.
5. Delegate authority granted under the power of attorney.
6. Waive the principal's right to be a beneficiary of a joint and survivor annuity.
7. Exercise fiduciary powers that the principal has authority to delegate.
8. Disclaim property, including a power of appointment.
9. Access a safe deposit box or vault leased by the principal.
10. Exercise a power of appointment in favor of someone other than the principal.
11. Reject, renounce, disclaim, release, or consent to a reduction in a share in a trust or estate.
12. Deal with commodity futures contracts or call and put options on stocks.

An agent who exercises any of these powers without express authorization may be personally liable for resulting losses.

General Financial Authority

When the principal grants general authority for a category of acts, S.C. Code Ann. 62-8-204 through 62-8-217 define the scope of that authority by subject matter. For example, general authority over real property includes buying, selling, leasing, and mortgaging property. General authority over banks and financial institutions allows the agent to establish accounts, withdraw funds, borrow money, and negotiate instruments. General authority over business operations covers managing, maintaining, and winding up a business. The document can expand or restrict any of these defaults.

Health Care Power of Attorney in South Carolina

A South Carolina financial power of attorney executed under Article 8 does not authorize an agent to make health care decisions. Medical and personal care authority requires a separate health care power of attorney, governed by S.C. Code Ann. 62-5-501 et seq.

The Adult Health Care Consent Act at S.C. Code Ann. 44-66-30 establishes the hierarchy of who may consent to health care for an incapacitated patient. An attorney-in-fact appointed under a valid health care power of attorney executed pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. 62-5-501 ranks second in that hierarchy, after a court-appointed guardian and ahead of spouse, adult children, and other family members.

A health care agent designated under a South Carolina health care power of attorney can make decisions about medical treatment, diagnostic procedures, and the admission to or discharge from health care facilities, within the scope of authority the principal grants in the document. The health care agent's authority generally activates when the attending physician or another authorized individual determines the principal lacks capacity to make health care decisions.

Because the financial POA under Article 8 and the health care POA under Article 5, Part 5 are separate legal instruments with different governing statutes, a principal who wants both financial and medical authority addressed must execute two separate documents.

For a broad overview of how powers of attorney work across all states and what to look for when creating one, see our national Power of Attorney guide.

Revoking or Ending a South Carolina Power of Attorney

A principal may revoke a power of attorney at any time while competent. Under S.C. Code Ann. 62-8-110, a power of attorney terminates upon any of the following:

• The principal dies.
• The principal becomes incapacitated (if the POA is not durable).
• The principal revokes the document.
• The purpose of the POA is accomplished.
• The document provides for termination on a specified date or event.
• The agent dies, becomes incapacitated, or resigns without a successor agent designated in the document.

How to revoke. A revocation must be executed with the same formalities required for the original power of attorney under S.C. Code Ann. 62-8-105 and 62-8-106. Revocation is not effective as to an agent or third party acting in good faith until they have actual knowledge of it.

Recorded revocations. If the original power of attorney was recorded with the register of deeds, the revocation must also be recorded in the same county to be effective against third parties who relied on the recorded document (S.C. Code Ann. 62-8-110(g)).

Marriage dissolution. South Carolina automatically revokes a former spouse's authority as agent, but only upon entry of a final decree of divorce or annulment (S.C. Code Ann. 62-2-507, cross-referenced by 62-8-110(b)(3)). Merely filing for divorce does not trigger revocation, and a legal separation or decree of separate maintenance alone does not either, since it does not terminate marital status. The power of attorney may provide otherwise. Principals who separate or divorce but do not yet have a final decree should still execute a written revocation if they no longer want an estranged spouse to serve as agent.

Death ends authority. Authority under a financial POA ends at the principal's death. An agent who acts in good faith without actual knowledge of the principal's death is protected, but an agent who continues to act after learning of death may face personal liability.

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This page provides general legal information about South Carolina power of attorney laws and is not legal advice. South Carolina estate planning involves individual circumstances that an attorney licensed in South Carolina can assess. Consult a qualified South Carolina attorney before executing or relying on a power of attorney document.

Last reviewed: May 2026. Governing statutes: S.C. Code Ann. 62-8-101 to 62-8-403 (South Carolina Uniform Power of Attorney Act); S.C. Code Ann. 62-5-501 et seq. (Health Care Power of Attorney); S.C. Code Ann. 44-66-10 to 44-66-80 (Adult Health Care Consent Act).

More South Carolina Laws

• South Carolina Alimony Laws
• South Carolina Divorce Laws
• South Carolina Probate Laws