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South Carolina estate administration

South Carolina probate: rules, process, costs, executor fees and deadlines

Small-estate limit: $45,000

This guide explains probate in South Carolina: South Carolina allows collection of personal property by affidavit when the entire probate estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $45,000 (S.C. Code § 62-3-1201), heard in the county Probate Court. The filing fee is a statewide graduated schedule keyed to gross estate value (§ 8-21-770), executor commission is capped at 5% of appraised personalty plus realty-sale proceeds (§ 62-3-719), and creditor deadlines turn on multiple notice triggers (§§ 62-3-801, 62-3-803).

Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.

Answer first

South Carolina simplified probate route

South Carolina publishes two DISTINCT small-estate procedures, both capped at forty-five thousand dollars but reached by different mechanisms. (1) Collection of personal property by affidavit (S.C. Code § 62-3-1201): a self-help route with NO personal representative appointed. Thirty days after death, a claiming successor presents an affidavit — countersigned by the probate judge — stating that the value of the entire probate estate (property passing by will plus by intestacy), wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed forty-five thousand dollars, that 30 days have elapsed, and that no application or petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted. (2) Summary administrative procedure (S.C. Code § 62-3-1203): used AFTER a personal representative is appointed. If the inventory and appraisal show the value of the entire probate estate, 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, the personal representative — after publishing notice to creditors under § 62-3-801 but without additional notice — may immediately disburse and distribute the estate and close it by sworn statement under § 62-3-1204. The affidavit route needs no appointment; the summary procedure runs inside an opened estate. The threshold reported here is net of liens and encumbrances.

Collection of personal property by affidavit (S.C. Code § 62-3-1201); small-estate summary administrative procedure (S.C. Code § 62-3-1203)
1. Where and when
Private by design: entries stay in this browser.
2. What they left

Ownership determines whether an asset usually enters probate. Choose “Not sure” when title or beneficiary status has not been confirmed.

Asset 1

Asset 2

Your working estimate

South Carolina estate snapshot

Route check

More information is needed

Counted probate estate: not yet counted

A valid date of death is required before any waiting period can be tested.

Gross probate propertyNot yet counted
Court chargeMore information neededProbate Court filing fee (opening), by gross value of the probate estate2 asset entries have no value entered. A blank amount is not treated as zero, so the charge cannot be computed.Court charges only, for the proceeding named beside each figure. That proceeding is not always the route screened above.
Scheduled executor compensationMore information needed2 asset entries have no value entered.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.

This route check is general information, not legal advice. It does not test every eligibility condition, creditor issue, will provision, local fee, or asset-title fact.

What the reviewed rules establish

Simplified route

$45,000

South Carolina publishes two DISTINCT small-estate procedures, both capped at forty-five thousand dollars but reached by different mechanisms. (1) Collection of personal property by affidavit (S.C. Code § 62-3-1201): a self-help route with NO personal representative appointed. Thirty days after death, a claiming successor presents an affidavit — countersigned by the probate judge — stating that the value of the entire probate estate (property passing by will plus by intestacy), wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed forty-five thousand dollars, that 30 days have elapsed, and that no application or petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted. (2) Summary administrative procedure (S.C. Code § 62-3-1203): used AFTER a personal representative is appointed. If the inventory and appraisal show the value of the entire probate estate, 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, the personal representative — after publishing notice to creditors under § 62-3-801 but without additional notice — may immediately disburse and distribute the estate and close it by sworn statement under § 62-3-1204. The affidavit route needs no appointment; the summary procedure runs inside an opened estate. The threshold reported here is net of liens and encumbrances.

Eligibility and caveats

Court cost

Tiered

S.C. Code § 8-21-770 sets a statewide graduated Probate Court filing fee based on the gross value of the decedent’s probate estate: $25 under $5,000; $45 for $5,000–<$20,000; $67.50 for $20,000–<$60,000; $95 for $60,000–<$100,000; for $100,000–<$600,000, $95 plus 0.15% of the value between $100,000 and $600,000; and for $600,000+, the item-(5) amount plus one-fourth of one percent of value above $600,000.

Filing-cost detail

Executor compensation

Court-reviewed

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.

Compensation detail

Creditor deadline

Multiple triggers

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.

S.C. Code §§ 62-3-801, 62-3-803 (South Carolina Legislature (S.C. Code Title 62, SCPC); reviewed August 9, 2026)

Timeline and creditor details

South Carolina decision map

The four facts that change the South Carolina route

Use this map before opening a form or entering a number. It keeps the South Carolina amount test, time gate, court cost, and creditor record separate so one easy figure does not stand in for the whole administration.

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.

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

Start with the row that is still unknown, then take that question to the named court or source.

  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

Limits and unresolved costs

  • Filing-fee marginal components (0.15%/0.25%) must be implemented as band-limited marginal charges added to the $95 base, per the verbatim § 8-21-770 text — not as a flat percentage of the whole estate.
  • Creditor deadline published as UNKNOWN because multiple notice triggers (8-month publication, actual-notice, 1-year outer) coexist.
  • Small-estate routes separated: § 62-3-1201 (self-help collection affidavit, no personal representative, probate-judge countersignature) and § 62-3-1203 (summary administrative procedure inside an opened estate after inventory/appraisal, closed by § 62-3-1204 sworn statement) are distinct procedures that share the $45,000 net-of-liens cap; both now sourced.
  • Attorney fees, bond premiums, publication, certified copies, tax work, and asset-sale costs are not included unless expressly shown.
  • Asset title, beneficiary designations, creditor claims, and will terms can change the route.
Use this as a starting point.

This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.

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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.

Primary sources

Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.