South Carolina Probate and Intestate Succession: What Happens Without a Will (2026)

South Carolina probate is handled by an elected Probate Judge in the county where the decedent lived, one of 46 county Probate Courts statewide, under a Uniform Probate Code based statute at S.C. Code Title 62. Most estates proceed through the informal, uncontested track.

Information last verified on 2026-07-16. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

How Probate Works in South Carolina

South Carolina probate is a county-level process. Each of the state's 46 counties elects its own Probate Judge, who has exclusive jurisdiction over decedents' estates, guardianships, conservatorships, and marriage licenses within that county, and an estate is filed in the county where the decedent resided.

South Carolina adopted a probate code substantially based on the Uniform Probate Code, codified at S.C. Code Title 62, and it offers the standard UPC two-track structure. Informal probate and appointment, under Section 62-3-301 et seq., is an administrative process handled by the Probate Court without a judicial hearing, used when the estate is uncontested; most South Carolina estates proceed this way. Formal proceedings, under Section 62-3-402 et seq., involve judicial adjudication of a will's validity or of who has priority to serve as personal representative, and are used when there is a dispute or when a party wants the added certainty of a court order. For qualifying small estates, South Carolina also offers a pure affidavit process that bypasses court administration entirely, described below. Creditors have a defined window to make claims: under S.C. Code § 62-3-803, claims are barred unless presented within the earlier of one year after the decedent's death or eight months after first publication of the notice to creditors.

Intestate Succession in South Carolina: Who Inherits Without a Will

South Carolina's intestate succession statute, S.C. Code § 62-2-102, sets a comparatively simple spousal share. If the decedent leaves no surviving issue, the surviving spouse takes the entire intestate estate. If the decedent does leave surviving issue, the spouse takes one-half of the intestate estate and the issue take the other half. Notably, unlike some other Uniform Probate Code states, South Carolina's statute does not further adjust this split based on whether the children are also the surviving spouse's children; the one-half, one-half division applies whenever there is any surviving issue, regardless of parentage. South Carolina is not a community-property state, so standard separate-property succession rules apply throughout.

Whatever share does not pass to the spouse, or the entire estate if there is no surviving spouse, passes under S.C. Code § 62-2-103 in the following order: first to the decedent's issue by representation; if there is no surviving issue, to the decedent's parents equally or to the surviving parent; if no parent survives, to the issue of the decedent's parents (siblings, and by representation their descendants); if none survive, to grandparents and their issue, split between the paternal and maternal sides. If no qualifying heir can be found under any of these categories, the estate ultimately escheats to the state.

One way to make sure your property goes to the people you actually choose, rather than following South Carolina's intestate succession order, is to have a valid will in place. recordinglaw.com's free South Carolina Last Will and Testament Generator can help you create one, with no account required.

Small Estate and Simplified Probate in South Carolina

South Carolina's small estate threshold is $45,000, raised from the prior $25,000 by Act No. 26 of 2025 (Bill 3472), signed by the Governor on May 8, 2025 and effective immediately. Under the Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property, S.C. Code § 62-3-1201, an heir can use this process once at least 30 days have passed since death, as long as the entire probate estate, wherever located and less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $45,000, no application for a personal representative is pending or has been granted, and the person signing the affidavit is legally entitled to the property.

This is a pure affidavit process. It requires no formal court administration, though the affidavit itself is presented to the bank, transfer agent, or other institution or person holding the decedent's property. Because it skips the appointment of a personal representative and the formal accounting process that regular administration requires, a qualifying small estate in South Carolina can typically be resolved far faster than a full probate case.

Does South Carolina Have an Estate or Inheritance Tax?

No. South Carolina levies neither a state estate tax nor a state inheritance tax. An estate settled in South Carolina can still be subject to the federal estate tax, which in 2026 applies only to estates above a $15,000,000 per-person basic exclusion amount, but that affects only a very small number of the largest estates nationally and has no separate South Carolina counterpart.

Do You Need a Probate Attorney?

South Carolina's informal probate track and its small estate affidavit process are both designed to be navigable without a lawyer for a straightforward, uncontested estate. A probate attorney is genuinely worth engaging when a will contest or a dispute among heirs is likely, when the estate includes a business interest, when the family is blended in a way that raises questions about the § 62-2-102 spousal share, or when formal proceedings under § 62-3-402 become necessary. The county Probate Court where the estate will be filed can also answer procedural questions directly.

For readers exploring probate law more broadly, Probate by State covers the general process, formal versus informal tracks, and estate and inheritance tax rules across all 50 states.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about probate and intestate succession law in South Carolina as of the verification date above. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is not a substitute for advice from a probate attorney licensed in South Carolina, particularly for a contested estate, a business interest, a blended family, or formal proceedings. Figures and statutes change; verify current details directly with the county Probate Court or the South Carolina Legislature's official statutes before relying on any figure here.

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Last updated: 2026-07-16. Figures and statutes cited reflect their in-force version as of 2026-07-16.

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