Making a Will in South Carolina

How to make a will in South Carolina and what can happen if you don't.

By , Attorney · University of Arkansas School of Law

Steps to Create a Will in South Carolina

Here's a quick checklist for making a will in South Carolina:

  1. Decide what property to include in your will.
  2. Decide who will inherit your property.
  3. Choose an executor to handle your estate.
  4. Choose a guardian for your children.
  5. Choose someone to manage children's property.
  6. Make your will.
  7. Sign your will in front of witnesses.
  8. Store your will safely.

Why Should I Make a South Carolina Will?

A will, also called a "last will and testament," can help you protect your family and your property. You can use a will to:

  • leave your property to people or organizations
  • name a personal guardian to care for your minor children
  • name a trusted person to manage property you leave to minor children, and
  • name a personal representative, the person who makes sure that the terms of your will are carried out.

What Happens If I Don't Have a Will?

In South Carolina, if you die without a will, your property will be distributed according to state "intestacy" laws. South Carolina's intestacy law gives your property to your closest relatives, beginning with your spouse and children. If you have neither a spouse nor children, your grandchildren or your parents will get your property. This list continues with increasingly distant relatives, including siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, great aunts and uncles, cousins of any degree, and great grandparents. If the court exhausts this list to find that you have no living relatives by blood or marriage, the state will take your property.

Do I Need a Lawyer to Make a Will in South Carolina?

No. You can make your own will in South Carolina, using Nolo's Quicken WillMaker & Trust. However, you may want to consult a lawyer in some situations. For example, if you think that your will might be contested or you have especially complicated goals, you should talk with an attorney. See Do I Need an Attorney to Make My Estate Plan?

What Are the Requirements for Signing a Will in South Carolina?

To make a will in South Carolina, you must be:

You must make your will on hard copy. That is, it must be on actual paper. It cannot be on an audio, video, or any other digital file. (Although, see "Can I Make a Digital or Electronic Will?," below.) Type and print your will using a computer, or you can use a typewriter.

How Do I Sign My South Carolina Will?

To finalize your will in South Carolina:

  • you must sign or acknowledge your will in front of two witnesses, and
  • your witnesses must sign your will. S.C. Code Ann. § 62-2-502.

Do I Need to Have My Will Notarized?

No, in South Carolina, you do not need to notarize your will to make it legal.

However, South Carolina allows you to make your will "self-proving" and you'll need to go to a notary if you want to do that. A self-proving will speeds up probate because the court can accept the will without contacting the witnesses who signed it.

To make your will self-proving, you and your witnesses will go to the notary and sign an affidavit that states who you are and that each of you knew you were signing the will. S.C. Code Ann. § 62-2-503.

It is best to use "disinterested" witnesses who don't stand to inherit from the will because interested witnesses can lose the gift you leave them if they serve as witnesses. S.C. Code Ann. § 62-2-504.

Should My Will Name a Personal Representative?

Yes. In South Carolina, you can use your will to name a personal representative who will ensure that the provisions in your will are carried out after your death. Nolo's Quicken WillMaker produces a letter to your personal representative that generally explains what the job requires. If you don't name a personal representative, the probate court will appoint someone to take on the job of winding up your estate.

Can I Revoke or Change My Will?

In South Carolina, you may revoke or change your will at any time. You can revoke your will by:

  • burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating, or destroying all or part of your will with the intent to revoke it
  • ordering someone else to burn, tear, cancel, obliterate or destroy all or part of your will in front of you, or
  • making a new will that says it revokes your old will or has contradictory terms to the old will.

If you have two wills and it's not clear whether you revoked the old will or not, South Carolina has rules that determine whether your new will revokes the old one or simply adds to it. If you intended to revoke the old will, the old will is revoked. South Carolina law presumes you intended to revoke your old will if the new will disposes of all of your estate. If you didn't dispose of all of your estate in your new will, South Carolina law presumes you only meant to add on to your old will. In this situation, the executor should follow the instructions in both wills. If there's a contradictory term, the executor should follow the instructions of the new will for that particular term. S.C. Code Ann. § 62-2-506.

If you and your spouse divorce (or if a court determines that your marriage is not legal), South Carolina law revokes any language in your will that leaves property to your spouse or names your spouse to be your executor. This rule does not apply if you happen to remarry your spouse or you specifically state in your will (or divorce decree or contract relating to the division of your property) that divorce should not affect the provisions in your will. S.C. Code Ann. § 62-2-507. If you have any concerns about the effects of divorce on your will, see an estate planning attorney for help.

If you need to make changes to your will, it's best to revoke it and make a new one. However, if you have only very simple changes to make, you could add an amendment to your existing will – this is called a codicil. In either case, you will need to finalize your changes with the same formalities you used to make your original will (see above).

Can I Make a Digital or Electronic Will?

In a handful of states, you can make a legal will digitally—that is, you can make the will, sign it, and have it witnessed without ever printing it out. Although such electronic wills are currently available in only a minority of states, many other states are considering making electronic wills legal. South Carolina currently doesn't allow e-wills, but that may change in the future.

Where Can I Find South Carolina's Laws About Making Wills?

You can find South Carolina's laws about making wills here: South Carolina Code of Laws Title 62 Probate Code Article 2 Intestate Succession and Wills Part 5 Wills.

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