Protect Legal South Carolina Wills Forms For Free

Yes, online Wills are legal in South Carolina, so long as you satisfy the legal requirements of executing a valid Will: You must be at least 18 years of age or a legally emancipated minor. You must be of sound mind. You must sign the Will in front of two witnesses.

Answer: Wills are filed with the Probate Court within 30 days after death. A will can be filed by anyone who has possession of such document. There is a filing fee at the time of filing the will.

Because of these requirements, South Carolina essentially does not allow a Holographic Will. This is a Will that is handwritten and signed by the Testator, without any witnesses. While this type of Will may be valid in other states, in South Carolina a handwritten Will must be signed before witnesses.

What this means in a nutshell is that South Carolina does not allow a holographic will, which is when a testator handwrites and then signs his or her own will. There must be witnesses, and those witnesses must not be anyone who would benefit from the will. Otherwise, they could be stripped of their beneficiary status.

Wills in South Carolina don't need to be notarized to be valid, but notarization can make the probate process smoother. That's because, when a will is notarized, it means the probate court doesn't have to summon the witnesses to make sure the will is legally binding.

There are three requirements for a valid will in South Carolina: It is signed by the will-maker. It must have two witness signatures. It must be notarized by a notary public.