Simplified route
$45,000
Collection of personal property by affidavit (S.C. Code § 62-3-1201); small-estate summary administrative procedure (S.C. Code § 62-3-1203); usable 30 days after death.
Eligibility and caveatsSouth Carolina estate administration
South Carolina probate: rules, process, costs, executor fees and deadlines
Small-estate limit: $45,000
In South Carolina, estates up to $45,000 can use the small-estate route; executor pay is capped at 5% of appraised personal property and real property sale proceeds, plus up to 5% of income (S.C. Code § 62-3-719); and claims close eight months after first publication, or 60 days after mailed notice if sooner, a year after death at most. 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. Sources rechecked October 3, 2026. This page last revised .
Answer first
South Carolina simplified probate route
Up to $45,000; usable 30 days after death. Source: S.C. Code § 62-3-1201.
Collection of personal property by affidavit (S.C. Code § 62-3-1201); small-estate summary administrative procedure (S.C. Code § 62-3-1203)No combined South Carolina probate total
The Probate Court filing charge is statewide: priced by estate value (S.C. Code § 8-21-770). S.C. Code § 62-3-719 caps executor pay without fixing it. Each side in full: South Carolina probate filing cost and South Carolina executor fees.
Screen a specific South Carolina estate with the calculators on the small-estate page and the executor-fee page, or compare states in the full estate navigator.
What the reviewed rules establish
Court cost
Tiered
1 published schedule, itemised on the filing-cost page.
Filing-cost detailExecutor compensation
Court-reviewed
The statute caps compensation; the court sets the amount within it. Source: S.C. Code § 62-3-719.
Compensation detailCreditor deadline
Multiple triggers
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 detailsSouth Carolina decision map
The four facts that change the South Carolina route
Each South Carolina answer below links to the page that sets out its source.
| Question | Recorded South Carolina answer |
|---|---|
| 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) |
| What property and basis count? | probate property within the rule's stated scope; net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. |
| What is the amount screen? | $45,000 |
| What is the time or deadline record? | 30 days after death; creditor deadlines: separate clocks by triggering event |
| What does the cost record establish? | 1 published schedule; the proceeding and value basis control the total. |
| What does compensation use? | Statutory ceiling, measured on gross probate property. |
Limits and unresolved costs
- South Carolina's filing fee is the $95 base plus charges of 0.15% and 0.25% that apply only to the part of the estate's value inside each band (§ 8-21-770), not a percentage of the whole estate.
- No single creditor deadline is given because several apply at once: eight months from publication, a deadline after actual notice, and a one-year outer limit.
- South Carolina has two small-estate routes with the same $45,000 cap, measured net of liens: the § 62-3-1201 collection affidavit, used without a personal representative and countersigned by the probate judge; and § 62-3-1203 summary administration inside an opened estate after inventory and appraisal, closed by a sworn statement under § 62-3-1204.
Continue
What South Carolina courts publish
Each link goes to the court’s own page and is checked before every release.
- Forms indexSouth Carolina Judicial Branch — Court FormsSouth Carolina Judicial Branch
- Court resourceSouth Carolina Judicial BranchSouth Carolina Judicial Branch
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.
South Carolina primary sources
Each rule on the South Carolina pages comes from one of these 5 sources; the citation opens the publisher’s own text. All were last rechecked October 3, 2026.
Simplified-procedure rule
S.C. Code § 62-3-1201, Collection of personal property by affidavit.
Simplified-procedure rule
S.C. Code § 62-3-1203, Small estates; summary administrative procedure.
Executor compensation rule
S.C. Code § 62-3-719, Compensation of personal representative.
Court cost rule
S.C. Code § 8-21-770, Probate Court schedule of fees and costs.
Creditor deadline rule
S.C. Code §§ 62-3-801, 62-3-803, S.C. Code § 62-3-801 / § 62-3-803 — Notice to creditors; limitations on presentation of claims.
Sources rechecked October 3, 2026: South Carolina source list · how sources are checked · report a correction