Extract Data From Legal South Carolina Small Estates Forms For Free

For an estate to go through probate, no estate planning is required. A person's estate can pass through probate whether they died without a will or with one, as long as it has assets that are subject to the process. For an estate to avoid probate, the deceased must own no assets subject to probate at the time of death.

Under South Carolina statute, where as estate is valued at less than $25,000, an interested party may, thirty (30) days after the death of the decedent, issue a small estate affidavit to collect any debts owed to the decedent.

One way to avoid probate in South Carolina is by using a transfer-on-death (TOD) deed for real estate. This allows the property to be transferred to the beneficiary upon the owner's death, bypassing the probate process.

In South Carolina, probate for small estates is required. A small estate is considered to be an estate that is valued at $25,000 or less in assets and no real property. If those two conditions are met for a small estate, a case will have to be filed with the probate court.

The Estate Settlement Timeline: While there is no specific deadline for this in South Carolina law, it is generally best to do so within a month to prevent unnecessary delays in the probate process.

Only when a decedent's estate has a total value of less than $25,000 in probate assets, and if no real property is involved, can the family use a process called a small estate. John P. Gettys Jr. is one of the founding partners of Morton & Gettys Law Firm in Rock Hill, South Carolina.