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South Carolina source record

Every source behind the South Carolina guide

5 primary records, quoted verbatim and checked against 20 named presence or absence conditions that must pass against the live government text. Open the record, read the words the publishing body actually used, and confirm the current rule for yourself.

Last full re-fetch September 15, 2026

What each source establishes

The South Carolina guide rests on the source-backed rules this site can verify for the state: which simplified procedure exists and what it limits, what the court charges, how the person administering the estate may be paid, and the statutory creditor-deadline clocks the official text states.Every published rule below is quoted in the publisher’s own words rather than summarised.

Simplified-procedure rule

S.C. Code § 62-3-1201

South Carolina Legislature (S.C. Code Title 62, SCPC) · 2025 Act No. 26 (H.3472), SECTION 1, eff May 8, 2025 · Verified August 9, 2026

state that the value of the entire probate estate (the decedent's property passing under the decedent's will plus the decedent's property passing by intestacy), wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed forty-five thousand dollars

What this means: Threshold $45,000 measured on the entire probate estate less liens and encumbrances (net-of-liens). 2025 Act No. 26 confirms current text — no stale session-law trap.

What was published from this source

  • SC S.C. Code § 62-3-1201

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • threshold $45,000 net of liens
  • 30-day wait
  • section identity 62-3-1201
  • section identity

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Simplified-procedure rule

S.C. Code § 62-3-1203

South Carolina Legislature (S.C. Code Title 62, SCPC) · 2025 Act No. 26 (H.3472), SECTION 2, eff May 8, 2025 · Verified August 9, 2026

SECTION 62-3-1203. Small estates; summary administrative procedure. (a) If it appears from the inventory and appraisal that the value of the entire probate estate (the decedent's property passing under the decedent's will plus the decedent's property passing by intestacy), less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed forty-five thousand dollars and exempt property, costs and expenses of administration, reasonable funeral expenses, and reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last illness of the decedent, the personal representative, after publishing notice to creditors pursuant to Section 62-3-801, but without giving additional notice to creditors, may immediately disburse and distribute the estate to the persons entitled thereto

What this means: Summary administration is a distinct procedure from the § 62-3-1201 affidavit: it runs inside an opened estate after a personal representative is appointed and after inventory/appraisal, and is closed by sworn statement under § 62-3-1204. Same $45,000 net-of-liens cap, raised by 2025 Act No. 26.

What was published from this source

  • SC S.C. Code § 62-3-1203

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • SC summary admin $45,000 plus allowances
  • SC summary admin immediate disbursement after notice
  • section identity 62-3-1203
  • section identity

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Executor compensation rule

S.C. Code § 62-3-719

South Carolina Legislature (S.C. Code Title 62, SCPC) · 2013 Act No. 100, SECTION 1, eff January 1, 2014 · Verified August 9, 2026

not to exceed five percent of the appraised value of the personal property of the probate estate plus the sales proceeds of real property of the probate estate received on sales directed or authorized by will or by proper court order

What this means: 5% ceiling applies to appraised personalty PLUS realty-sale proceeds (not unsold realty); minimum $50; separate 5% cap on income earned.

What was published from this source

  • SC S.C. Code § 62-3-719

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • comp ceiling 5% personalty + realty sale proceeds
  • minimum commission $50
  • income 5% cap
  • section identity 62-3-719
  • section identity

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Court cost rule

S.C. Code § 8-21-770

South Carolina Legislature (S.C. Code Title 8) · 1995 Act No. 15, SECTION 1, eff April 4, 1995 · Verified August 9, 2026

the fee shall be based upon the gross value of the decedent's probate estate or the protected person's estate as shown on the inventory and appraisement as follows: (1) Property valuation less than $5,000.00 $25.00 (2) Property valuation of $5,000.00 but less than $20,000.00 $45.00 (3) Property valuation of $20,000.00 but less than $60,000.00 $67.50 (4) Property valuation of $60,000.00 but less than $100,000.00 $95.00 (5) Property valuation of $100,000.00 but less than $600,000.00 $95.00 plus .15 percent of the property valuation between $100,000.00 and $600,000.00 (6) Property valuation of $600,000.00 or higher amount set forth in (5) above plus one-fourth of one percent of the property valuation above $600,000.00.

What this means: Graduated statewide schedule keyed to GROSS value of the probate estate. The marginal 0.15%/0.25% pieces apply only to value within their bands, added to the $95 base.

What was published from this source

  • SC S.C. Code § 8-21-770

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • filing fee graduated schedule on gross value
  • section identity 8-21-770
  • section identity

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Creditor deadline rule

S.C. Code §§ 62-3-801, 62-3-803

South Carolina Legislature (S.C. Code Title 62, SCPC) · Publisher states no currentness signal; manual session review required · Verified August 9, 2026

to present their claims within eight months after the date of the first publication of the notice or be forever barred

What this means: No HISTORY line is emitted for § 62-3-801 in the chapter dump, so currentnessSignal is null; the same file is confirmed current at chapter level by the 2025 Act No. 26 signal on § 62-3-1201. Publication bar (8 months) is kept separate from the actual-notice bar and the § 62-3-803 one-year outer non-claim limit.

What was published from this source

  • SC S.C. Code §§ 62-3-801, 62-3-803

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • publication bar 8 months
  • outer non-claim one year after death
  • section identity 62-3-801
  • section identity

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South Carolina source decision map

How the South Carolina records fit together

The source record is most useful when each citation has a job. This map links the South Carolina procedure, cost, compensation, and deadline records to the decision each one can and cannot answer.

QuestionRecorded South Carolina answerCarry into the case
What route is being screened?Collection of personal property by affidavit (S.C. Code § 62-3-1201); small-estate summary administrative procedure (S.C. Code § 62-3-1203)Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route.
What property and basis count?probate property within the rule's stated scope; net of enforceable liens and encumbrances.Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately.
What is the amount screen?$45,000Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut.
What is the time or deadline record?30 days after death; South Carolina runs separate, differently-triggered deadlines: a publication bar of eight months from first publication of notice (§ 62-3-801), an actual-notice bar (the earlier of one year from death or 60 days from mailing), and an outer non-claim limit of one year after death (§ 62-3-803). These cannot be reduced to one number; the operative bar depends on which notice trigger applies.Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number.
What does the cost record establish?1 published schedule; the proceeding and value basis control the total.Ask the Probate Court about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings.
What does compensation use?S.C. Code § 62-3-719 caps the personal representative’s commission at five percent (5%) of the appraised value of the personal property of the probate estate PLUS the sale proceeds of real property received on court- or will-directed sales; the minimum commission is fifty dollars. Separately, the PR may receive not more than five percent of the income earned by the probate estate. The base for the 5% is appraised personalty plus realty-sale proceeds — not the value of unsold real property. The relevant base is gross probate property.Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate.

Decision boundary

What the South Carolina source set does not silently decide

The South Carolina records establish the rules listed above, but they do not turn a source citation into advice about title, family priority, tax filing, contested proceedings, or the exact clerk practice in every county. Those questions stay with the official court or a qualified adviser. The useful next step is to match the question to the citation rather than treating the longest quote as the answer to every estate problem.

Arithmetic illustration

See the South Carolina amount screen without mistaking it for a result

The recorded South Carolina ceiling is $45,000, and it is tested against probate property within the rule's stated scope, on a basis this site records as net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. Counted that way, $33,800 sits below the South Carolina figure and $56,300 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what South Carolina counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.

Illustrative counted amountComparison to the South Carolina ceilingWhat it does not decide
$33,800Below $45,000Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties
$56,300Above $45,000Whether another statutory route or court process applies

Next evidence to collect

Open the quoted record for the row you rely on and check the publisher's current text before filing.

  1. Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
  2. Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
  3. Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
  4. Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.

Official material

Probate is heard in the county Probate Court. The filing fee is a statewide graduated schedule (§ 8-21-770); the small-estate affidavit threshold ($45,000) is net of liens and encumbrances.

Source trail

Records used by this South Carolina map

  • S.C. Code § 62-3-1201S.C. Code § 62-3-1201 — Collection of personal property by affidavit; reviewed August 9, 2026
  • S.C. Code § 62-3-1203S.C. Code § 62-3-1203 — Small estates; summary administrative procedure; reviewed August 9, 2026
  • S.C. Code § 62-3-719S.C. Code § 62-3-719 — Compensation of personal representative; reviewed August 9, 2026
  • S.C. Code § 8-21-770S.C. Code § 8-21-770 — Probate Court schedule of fees and costs; reviewed August 9, 2026
  • S.C. Code §§ 62-3-801, 62-3-803S.C. Code § 62-3-801 / § 62-3-803 — Notice to creditors; limitations on presentation of claims; reviewed August 9, 2026

What South Carolina courts publish

The statutes on this page state the rule. These are the documents the court itself publishes. Every link is probed before release, and any link that stops resolving fails the build rather than staying on the page.

Limits on court material

  • Probate is heard in the county Probate Court. The filing fee is a statewide graduated schedule (§ 8-21-770); the small-estate affidavit threshold ($45,000) is net of liens and encumbrances.

Checking these South Carolina records against the publishers

Every citation above links to the body that publishes it, and every quoted sentence is reproduced exactly, so a text search on the publisher’s own page should land on it. Where the publisher’s current wording differs from what is recorded here, the publisher governs and this page is wrong; naming the citation and the language you see maps the difference onto a specific condition rather than a general complaint. The full procedure, including how a source qualifies in the first place and what disqualifies one, is set out once on the methodology page instead of being restated on each of the254 state records.

These records cover the cost and route questions this site answers for South Carolina. They do not cover intestate succession shares, spousal and family allowances, creditor priority, tax filing obligations, real-property transfer mechanics, or contested proceedings. Where an answer would require one of those, the site says so rather than estimating.

Return to the South Carolina estate guide ·All 254 records ·Dataset overview and citation ·How sources are selected