South Carolina Will and Trust Laws: Two Witnesses, Self-Proving (2026)

A South Carolina 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 individuals who each witnessed either the signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will (S.C. Code 62-2-502). The person making it must be of sound mind and not a minor, and South Carolina's definition of minor excludes a person under 18 who is married or emancipated by family court decree (62-2-501, 62-1-201(27)). Living trusts are governed by Article 7 of Title 62, which "may be cited as the South Carolina Trust Code" (62-7-101).

Among the wills and trusts laws by state, South Carolina follows a two-witness model with no notary at signing, no handwritten-will exception and no electronic-will statute. A notary or other officer authorized to administer oaths comes in only for the optional self-proving procedure in section 62-2-503.

Information last verified on 2026-10-20. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers South Carolina statutes on making, signing, changing and revoking wills (Title 62, Article 2 of the South Carolina Probate Code) and on revocable living trusts (the South Carolina Trust Code, Title 62, Article 7). It does not cover what happens when someone dies without a will or how estate administration works (see South Carolina probate), small-estate procedures (see the South Carolina small estate affidavit page), powers of attorney (see South Carolina power of attorney laws), or taxes. A living will is a health-care directive, not a will; see the South Carolina advance directive tool.

What makes a will valid in South Carolina?

Who can make a will

Section 62-2-501 provides: "An individual who is of sound mind and who is not a minor as defined in Section 62-1-201(27) may make a will." The definition it points to reads:

""Minor" means a person who is under eighteen years of age, excluding a person under the age of eighteen who is married or emancipated as decreed by the family court." (S.C. Code 62-1-201(27))

So an adult of sound mind may make a will, and so may a person under 18 who is married or has been emancipated by a family court decree.

A related rule applies to people under guardianship or conservatorship. Under 62-5-107, "Unless an order of the court specifies otherwise, a finding of incapacity is not a determination that the protected person or ward lacks testamentary capacity or the capacity to create, amend, or revoke a revocable trust."

Writing, signature and two witnesses

The execution rule is section 62-2-502:

"Except as provided for writings within Section 62-2-512 and wills within Section 62-2-505, every will shall be: (1) in writing; (2) signed by the testator or signed in the testator's name by some other individual 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)

Three features of the text are worth reading closely:

• Signing by another person. Someone else may sign the testator's name, but only "in the testator's presence and by the testator's direction."
• What the witnesses must see. Each witness must have witnessed either the signing itself or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will. Section 62-2-502 does not say the witnesses must sign in each other's presence.
• No notary. The section requires no notarization and no declaration to the witnesses that the document is a will.

Interested witnesses

A witness who receives a gift under the will is not disqualified, but the gift can shrink. Section 62-2-504(a) provides:

"If there are two disinterested witnesses to a will in addition to the interested witness, then the devise is valid and effectual, if otherwise effective. If there are not two disinterested witnesses to a will in addition to an interested witness, then the devise is null and void to the extent of the value of the excess property, estate, or interest so devised over the value of the property, estate or interest to which the witness, the witness's spouse, or the witness' issue would be entitled upon the failure to establish the will." (S.C. Code 62-2-504(a))

Wills signed in another state

South Carolina honors wills that meet another place's law. Under 62-2-505, "A written will is valid if: (a) it is executed in compliance with Section 62-2-502 either at the time of execution or at the date of the testator's death; or (b) if its execution complies with the law at the time of execution of either (1) the place where the will is executed, or (2) the place where the testator is domiciled at the time of execution or at the time of death."

Does a South Carolina will need to be notarized? The self-proving option

No notary is part of the 62-2-502 signing rule. Notarization enters through the self-proving procedure in 62-2-503(a):

"Any will may be simultaneously executed, attested, and made self-proved. The self-proof shall be effective upon the acknowledgment by the testator and the affidavit of at least one witness, each made before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws of the state where execution occurs and evidenced by the officer's certificate, under official seal, in the following form or in a similar form showing the same intent:" (S.C. Code 62-2-503(a))

The statutory form follows in the section itself; this page does not reproduce it. Two more rules sit in the same section:

• Later self-proof. Under 62-2-503(b), "An attested will may at any time subsequent to its execution be made self-proved by the acknowledgment thereof by the testator and the affidavit of at least one witness, each made before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws of the state where the acknowledgment occurs."
• A witness who is a notary. Under 62-2-503(c), "A witness to any will who is also an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws of this State may notarize the signature of the other witness of the will in the manner provided by this section."

Section 62-3-406 sets what self-proof does "in a contested case in which the proper execution of a will is at issue." If the will is self-proved under 62-2-503, "the will satisfies the requirements for execution, subject to rebuttal, without the testimony of any attesting witness, upon filing the will and the acknowledgment and affidavits annexed or attached to it." If the will is notarized under 62-2-503(c) but not self-proved, "there is a rebuttable presumption that the will satisfies the requirements for execution upon filing the will."

A will that is witnessed but neither notarized nor self-proved needs "the testimony of at least one of the attesting witnesses" if a witness is within the state, competent and able to testify, though proper execution "may be established by other evidence, including an affidavit of an attesting witness" (62-3-406(3)).

Are handwritten (holographic) wills valid in South Carolina?

Not as a separate category. Section 62-2-502 says "every will shall be" signed by at least two individuals who witnessed the signing or the acknowledgment, and its only exceptions are writings under 62-2-512 and wills valid under 62-2-505. Part 5 of Article 2 (sections 62-2-501 through 62-2-512) contains no provision for an unwitnessed will, so a handwritten will signed in South Carolina must meet the same two-witness rule as a typed one.

Two narrower rules involve handwriting:

• A will valid elsewhere. Under 62-2-505, a written will is valid if its execution complied with the law of the place where it was signed, or of the testator's domicile at signing or at death. A handwritten will made validly under another state's law can be honored this way.
• A separate list of tangible items. Section 62-2-512 allows a separate writing identifying bequests of tangible property. "To be admissible under this section as evidence of the intended disposition, the writing must either be in the handwriting of the testator or be signed by the testator and must describe the items and the devisees with reasonable certainty."

Are oral (nuncupative) wills valid?

No. Section 62-2-502 requires that every will be "in writing," and Part 5 of Article 2 contains no provision for an oral will.

Electronic wills and remote witnessing

South Carolina's will statutes have no electronic-will provision. Sections 62-2-501 through 62-2-512 contain no electronic or remote alternative to the 62-2-502 requirements of a writing, a signature and two witnesses. The state's Uniform Electronic Transactions Act also stands aside for wills: under 26-6-30(B)(2)(a), it does not apply to the extent a transaction is governed by "a law governing the creation and execution of wills, codicils, or testamentary trusts."

The notary rules point the same way for the self-proving affidavit. The Electronic Notary Public Act, added by 2021 Act No. 85 and effective May 18, 2021, provides that "An electronic notary public shall perform an electronic notarization only if the principal: (1) appears in person before the electronic notary public at the time of notarization" (26-2-50(A)). Section 26-1-5 defines "personal appearance" and "appear in person before a notary" to mean "an individual and a notary are in the physical presence of one another."

Changing or revoking a South Carolina will

Methods of revocation

Section 62-2-506(a) provides that a will or any part of it is revoked:

1. "by executing a subsequent will that revokes the previous will or part expressly or by inconsistency"; or
2. "by being burned, torn, canceled, obliterated, or destroyed, with the intent and for the purpose of revoking it by the testator or by another person in the testator's presence and by the testator's direction."

Reviving a revoked will

Under 62-2-508(a), if a later will that wholly revoked an earlier one is itself revoked by a physical act, "the previous will remains revoked unless it is revived," and it is revived only "if it appears by clear and convincing evidence that the testator intended to revive or make effective the previous will."

If the later will only partly revoked the earlier one, the revoked part is revived unless clear and convincing evidence shows the testator did not intend it to take effect (62-2-508(b)). If the later will is revoked by a still later will, the earlier will is revived only "to the extent it appears from the terms of the later will that the testator intended the previous will to take effect" (62-2-508(c)).

Divorce and annulment

Section 62-2-507 reaches well beyond the will. Its core rule:

"Except as provided by the express terms of a governing instrument, a court order, or a contract relating to the division of the marital estate made between the divorced individuals before or after the marriage, divorce or annulment, the divorce or annulment of a marriage: (1) revokes any revocable: (i) disposition or appointment of property or beneficiary designation made by a divorced individual to the divorced individual's former spouse in a governing instrument;" (S.C. Code 62-2-507)

The reach depends on the definition of "governing instrument" in 62-2-507(a)(4), as amended by 2018 Act No. 250 (effective May 18, 2018):

""Governing instrument" means an instrument executed by the divorced individual before the divorce or annulment of the individual's marriage to the individual's former spouse including, but not limited to wills, revocable inter vivos trusts, powers of attorney, life insurance beneficiary designations, annuity beneficiary designations, retirement plan beneficiary designations and transfer on death accounts. "Governing instrument" does not include a beneficiary designation made in connection with a governmental employee benefit plan established or maintained for employees of the government of the State or a political subdivision thereof, or by an agency or instrumentality of any of the foregoing." (S.C. Code 62-2-507(a)(4))

Several conditions shape the rule:

• A property-settlement order counts. For this section, divorce or annulment "also includes a court order purporting to terminate all marital property rights or confirming equitable distribution between spouses unless they are living together as husband and wife at the time of the decedent's death" (62-2-507(a)(2)).
• Only instruments signed before the divorce or annulment count, and only revocable dispositions, appointments and designations are revoked.
• Express terms, a court order or a marital-estate contract can keep the gift in place.
• Government employee plans are excluded. A beneficiary designation under a governmental employee benefit plan of the State, a political subdivision, or an agency or instrumentality of either is not a governing instrument, so this section does not revoke it.
• Separate maintenance is not divorce. "A decree of separate maintenance that does not terminate the status of husband and wife is not a divorce for purposes of this section" (62-2-507(a)(2)).
• Fiduciary nominations and powers too. The same rule revokes a revocable provision giving the former spouse a power of appointment and any revocable nomination of the former spouse "to serve in any fiduciary or representative capacity, including a personal representative, trustee, conservator, agent, attorney in fact or guardian" (62-2-507(c)(1)(ii), (iii)).
• Joint survivorship property is severed. Divorce or annulment "severs the interests of the former spouses in property held by them at the time of the divorce or annulment as joint tenants with the right of survivorship," including joint bank and credit union accounts, so "the former spouse has no rights by survivorship" (62-2-507(c)(2)). A good-faith purchaser for value is protected unless a writing declaring the severance was recorded (62-2-507(d)).
• Remarriage revives. "Provisions revoked solely by this section are revived by the divorced individual's remarriage to the former spouse or by a nullification of the divorce or annulment" (62-2-507(f)).

For employer plans governed by ERISA, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Egelhoff v. Egelhoff, 532 U.S. 141 (2001), that federal law pre-empts a state statute revoking a spouse's beneficiary designation on divorce as applied to those plans (see the wills and trusts hub).

The Trust Code has its own divorce rule for revocable trusts, covered in the trust section below (62-7-607).

Marriage, children and other changes

Under 62-2-507(b), "No change of circumstances other than those described in this section and in Section 62-2-803 effects a revocation." Marriage after a will and the birth or adoption of a child do not revoke it; instead the omitted-spouse and pretermitted-child sections described below can give that person a share.

Section 62-2-803 is the slayer rule: "An individual who feloniously and intentionally kills the decedent is not entitled to any benefits under the decedent's will, trust of which the decedent is a grantor or under this article with respect to the decedent's estate."

After death: delivering the will

Under 62-2-901(a), a person having custody of a testator's will "shall deliver such will, within thirty days of actual notice or knowledge of the testator's death to the judge of the probate court having jurisdiction to admit the same or to a person named as personal representative in the will who shall deliver the will to the judge of the probate court." Under 62-2-901(b), a person "who intentionally or fraudulently destroys, suppresses, conceals, or fails to deliver the will" to the probate judge "is liable to any person aggrieved for any damages that may be sustained by such action or inaction." A person who does so after being ordered by the court to deliver the will "is subject to a penalty for contempt of court" (62-2-901(c)). The probate process that follows is covered on the South Carolina probate page.

Limits on what a South Carolina will can do

Spouse's elective share. Under 62-2-201(a), "If a married person domiciled in this State dies, the surviving spouse has a right of election to take an elective share of one-third of the decedent's probate estate, as computed under Section 62-2-202." The base is the probate estate only: "Except as provided in Section 62-7-401(c) with respect to a revocable inter vivos trust found to be illusory, the elective share shall apply only to the decedent's probate estate" (62-2-202(b)). The petition must be filed within the later of "(1) eight months after the date of death, (2) six months after the informal or formal probate of the decedent's will, or (3) thirty days after a surviving spouse is served with a summons and petition to set aside an informal probate or to modify or vacate an order for formal probate of decedent's will" (62-2-205(a)).

Omitted spouse. A spouse who married the testator after the will was signed and is not provided for "shall receive the same share of the estate he would have received if the decedent left no will" unless an exception listed in 62-2-301(a) applies. The spouse must file and serve a summons and petition within the later of eight months after death, six months after probate of the will, or thirty days after being served in a proceeding to set aside or modify the probate (62-2-301(c)).

Pretermitted children. A child born or adopted after the will who is not provided for receives a share equal to what the child would have received in intestacy, unless an exception in 62-2-302(a) applies. Those exceptions include "(1) it appears from the will that the omission was intentional; or (2) when the will was executed the testator devised substantially all his estate to his spouse." The same share goes to a living child left out solely because the testator believed the child dead (62-2-302(b)), and a child's claim must be filed within the same deadlines (62-2-302(d)).

Gifts to relatives who die first. South Carolina's anti-lapse rule covers a devisee "who is a great-grandparent or a lineal descendant of a great-grandparent of the testator" who dies before the testator; in that case "the issue of the deceased devisee who survive the testator take in place of the deceased devisee" (62-2-603(A)). Section 62-7-606(A) applies the same class to a beneficiary of a revocable trust.

No-contest clauses. For wills, a penalty clause "is unenforceable if probable cause exists for instituting proceedings" (62-3-905). The Trust Code has a parallel rule for revocable trusts in 62-7-605.

What a surviving spouse or child receives when there is no will at all is covered on the South Carolina probate page.

Revocable living trusts in South Carolina

The trust code

South Carolina's trust statute is Article 7 of Title 62: "This article may be cited as the South Carolina Trust Code" (62-7-101). It was enacted by 2005 Act No. 66, whose bill history records "Effective date 01/01/06." Under 62-7-1106(a)(1), except as otherwise provided, "this article applies to all trusts created before, on, or after its effective date."

Section 62-7-103(13) defines the term: ""Revocable", as applied to a trust, means revocable by the settlor without the consent of the trustee or a person holding an adverse interest."

Creating a trust

Section 62-7-402(a) sets the requirements: "A trust is created only if: (1) the settlor has capacity to create a trust; (2) the settlor indicates an intention to create the trust; (3) the trust has a definite beneficiary or is: (A) a charitable trust; (B) a trust for the care of an animal, as provided in Section 62-7-408; or (C) a trust for a noncharitable purpose, as provided in Section 62-7-409; (4) the trustee has duties to perform; and (5) the same person is not the sole trustee and sole current and future beneficiary." The section contains no witness or notary requirement.

The writing rule depends on the property:

"To be valid, a trust of real property, created by transfer in trust or by declaration of trust, must be proved by some writing signed by the party creating the trust. A transfer in trust of personal property does not require written evidence, but must be proven by clear and convincing evidence, pursuant to Section 62-7-407." (S.C. Code 62-7-401(a)(2))

Section 62-7-407 adds: "The creation of an oral trust and its terms may be established only by clear and convincing evidence."

Under 62-7-401(c), "A revocable inter vivos trust may be created either by declaration of trust or by a transfer of property and is not rendered invalid because the settler retains substantial control over the trust including, but not limited to, (i) a right of revocation, (ii) substantial beneficial interests in the trust, or (iii) the power to control investments or reinvestments."

Capacity

Under 62-7-601, "The capacity required to create, amend, revoke, or add property to a revocable trust, or to direct the actions of the trustee of a revocable trust, is the same as that required to make a will."

Revocable by default, with a date limit

Section 62-7-602(a) provides: "Unless the terms of a trust expressly provide that the trust is irrevocable, the settlor may revoke or amend the trust. This subsection does not apply to a trust created under an instrument executed before the effective date of this article." The Trust Code took effect January 1, 2006, so the revocable-by-default rule covers trusts created under instruments signed on or after that date.

How to revoke or amend

Under 62-7-602(c), the settlor may revoke or amend a revocable trust "(1) by substantial compliance with a method provided in the terms of the trust; or (2) if the terms of the trust do not provide a method or the method provided in the terms is not expressly made exclusive, by: (A) a later will or codicil that expressly refers to the trust, manifesting clear and convincing evidence of the settlor's intent; or (B) by oral statement to the trustee if the trust was created orally; or (C) any other written method, other than a later will or codicil, delivered to the trustee and manifesting clear and convincing evidence of the settlor's intent."

For a trust funded by more than one settlor, each settlor may revoke or amend as to the portion of non-community property attributable to that settlor's contribution, and the trustee must promptly notify the other settlors (62-7-602(b)(2), (3)).

An agent under a power of attorney has limited authority here. Under 62-7-602A(a), the agent may revoke, amend or add to a revocable trust "only to the extent expressly authorized by the terms of the trust or the power of attorney." The South Carolina power of attorney laws page covers how those documents are made.

Divorce and revocable trusts

Section 62-7-607 provides that if, after executing a revocable trust, "the settlor is divorced or the marriage annulled or the spouse is a party to a valid proceeding concluded by an order purporting to terminate all marital property rights or confirming equitable distribution between spouses, the divorce or annulment or order revokes any disposition or appointment of property including beneficial interests made by such trust to the spouse, any provision conferring a general or special power of appointment on the spouse, and any nomination of the spouse as trustee, unless the trust expressly provides otherwise."

Creditors

Under 62-7-505(a)(1), "During the lifetime of the settlor, the property of a revocable trust is subject to claims of the settlor's creditors." After death, under 62-7-505(a)(3), "the property held in a revocable trust at the time of the settlor's death is subject to claims of the settlor's creditors, costs of administration of the settlor's estate, the expenses of the settlor's funeral and disposal of remains, and statutory allowances to a surviving spouse and children to the extent the settlor's probate estate is inadequate to satisfy those claims."

Certification of trust

Under 62-7-1013(a), "Instead of furnishing a copy of the trust instrument to a person other than a beneficiary, the trustee may furnish to the person a certification of trust." A person who relies on it "without knowledge that the representations contained therein are incorrect is not liable to any person for so acting and may assume without inquiry the existence of the facts contained in the certification" (62-7-1013(f)).

Trustee duties and the contest deadline

While the trust is revocable, "the trustee's duties under this section are owed exclusively to the settlor," unless the trust says otherwise (62-7-813(a)). Once a revocable trust becomes irrevocable, including by the settlor's death, the trustee must, "within ninety days after the trustee accepts a trusteeship or undertakes administration," notify the qualified beneficiaries of the trust's existence, the identity of the settlor and other listed items (62-7-813(b)(1)).

The contest window is short:

"A person must commence a judicial proceeding to contest the validity of a trust that was revocable at the settlor's death within the earlier of: (1) one year after the settlor's death; or (2) one hundred twenty days after the trustee sent the person a copy of the trust instrument and a notice informing the person of the trust's existence, of the trustee's name and address, and of the time allowed for commencing a proceeding." (S.C. Code 62-7-604(a))

Pour-over wills

A pour-over will leaves estate property to the trustee of a trust. Section 62-2-510 validates it: "The devise is not invalid because the trust is amendable or revocable, or because the trust was amended after the execution of the will or after the death of the testator." The same section sets the default if the trust ends first: "Unless the testator's will provides otherwise, a revocation or termination of the trust before the death of the testator causes the devise to lapse."

South Carolina wills and trusts at a glance

Recent and pending changes

• 2018 Act No. 250 (effective May 18, 2018). Amended 62-2-507 so that a beneficiary designation under a governmental employee benefit plan of the State or a political subdivision is not a "governing instrument" for the divorce-revocation rule.
• 2021 Act No. 85 (effective May 18, 2021). Added the Electronic Notary Public Act, which requires the principal to appear in person before the electronic notary (26-2-50(A)).
• H.5246 (2025-2026 session). This bill concerns the time limit for starting probate proceedings. It is "Currently residing in the House Committee on Judiciary" and is not law.

Making a will in practice

The site's free South Carolina will-maker tool can help draft a basic will. Whatever produces the document, signing must follow section 62-2-502: in writing, signed, and signed by two individuals who witnessed the signing or the acknowledgment, with the optional self-proving acknowledgment and affidavit under 62-2-503. Complex estates, blended families, business interests or tax questions are reasons to consult a lawyer licensed in South Carolina. The tool is not legal advice.

Members of the armed forces have one federal option as well: under 10 U.S.C. 1044d, a military testamentary instrument is exempt from state formalities and has the same legal effect as a will executed under the law of the state where it is presented for probate (see the wills and trusts hub for the federal layer).

Related pages

• Wills and trusts laws by state
• South Carolina probate
• South Carolina small estate affidavit
• South Carolina power of attorney laws

This article provides general legal information about South Carolina law on wills and revocable trusts as of 2026-10-20. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in South Carolina or the probate court in your county.

Last updated: 2026-10-20.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many witnesses does a will need in South Carolina?

Two. Section 62-2-502 requires a will to be signed by at least two individuals, each of whom witnessed either the testator's signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will.

Does a will have to be notarized in South Carolina?

No. Notarization is not part of the 62-2-502 signing rule. It is used to make a will self-proved under 62-2-503, through the testator's acknowledgment and the affidavit of at least one witness before an officer authorized to administer oaths, which lets the will satisfy the execution requirements without witness testimony if its execution is contested, subject to rebuttal (62-3-406).

Is a handwritten will valid in South Carolina?

A handwritten will signed in South Carolina must meet the same rule as any other will: in writing, signed, and signed by two witnesses (62-2-502). A will valid under the law of the place where it was signed, or of the testator's domicile, is honored under 62-2-505.

Are oral wills valid in South Carolina?

No. Section 62-2-502 requires every will to be in writing.

Can I sign a will electronically in South Carolina?

South Carolina's will statutes contain no electronic-will provision, the state's electronic transactions act does not apply to the execution of wills (26-6-30), and an electronic notarization requires the signer to appear in person before the notary (26-2-50).

Does divorce revoke a will in South Carolina?

Divorce or annulment revokes revocable gifts and appointments to the former spouse in a will signed before the divorce, unless the will, a court order or a contract between the spouses dividing the marital estate provides otherwise, and remarriage to the former spouse revives them (62-2-507). Separate rules with their own conditions and exclusions reach revocable trusts and beneficiary designations; see the divorce section above.

Is a living trust revocable in South Carolina?

Under 62-7-602(a), the settlor may revoke or amend a trust unless its terms expressly make it irrevocable. That default does not apply to a trust created under an instrument signed before the Trust Code took effect on January 1, 2006.

How long do you have to contest a revocable trust in South Carolina?

A contest to a trust that was revocable at the settlor's death must be started within the earlier of one year after the settlor's death or 120 days after the trustee sent the person a copy of the trust and the required notice (62-7-604(a)).

Can a spouse be left out of a will in South Carolina?

A surviving spouse of a person domiciled in South Carolina may elect one-third of the probate estate (62-2-201), a base that does not include nonprobate property except a revocable trust found to be illusory (62-2-202(b)). The petition is due by the latest of the deadlines in 62-2-205(a).

Who has to turn in a will after someone dies in South Carolina?

A person who has custody of the will must deliver it to the probate judge, or to the personal representative named in it, within thirty days of actual notice or knowledge of the testator's death (62-2-901(a)).