Payable-on-Death Deposit-Account Beneficiary Rules in South Carolina
At a glance
| Accounts covered | Checking, savings, certificates of deposit, share accounts, and similar deposits at banks, savings institutions, and credit unions (§ 62-6-101(1), (4)). |
|---|---|
| How the POD designation is made | Account terms may name POD beneficiaries; substantially statutory sample form establishes type, while another form follows the type closest to depositor intent (§§ 62-6-101(10), 62-6-103, 62-6-104). |
| Who may be named | One or more persons; beneficiary definition includes an account party named as trustee for a beneficiary. A minor beneficiary has a special payment route (§§ 62-6-101(3), (10), 62-6-305). |
| Owner and beneficiary rights before death | Parties own in proportion to net contributions absent clear and convincing contrary intent; POD beneficiary has no right to the balance during their lives (§ 62-6-201). |
| Joint owner's priority over payee | Surviving original parties generally take first; a POD designation on a multiple-party account without survivorship is ineffective (§ 62-6-202(a)-(c)). |
| If a payee dies first | Surviving beneficiaries take after the last party dies; if none survives, the balance goes to that party’s estate (§ 62-6-202(b)(2)). |
| Shares among surviving payees | Two or more surviving beneficiaries receive equal undivided shares, with no later survivorship among them (§ 62-6-202(b)(2)). |
| Changing the designation or using a will | Party may change terms or vary payment by signed notice received during life. Clear and convincing evidence, including express will language, can alter joint-account survivorship (§ 62-6-203(a)-(b)). |
| Proof, payment, and bank discharge | Institution may pay beneficiary on request with proof of surviving all parties; payment by account terms discharges it unless timely written stop notice or process limits protection (§§ 62-6-303, 62-6-306). |
Requirements one by one
Covered accounts and designation
South Carolina defines an account as a deposit contract, including checking, savings, certificates of deposit, and share accounts (§ 62-6-101(1)). Its financial-institution definition includes banks, savings institutions, and credit unions (§ 62-6-101(4)). A POD designation in account terms can name one or more beneficiaries for payment after all parties die, including the specified deposit-only trustee-for-beneficiary arrangement (§ 62-6-101(3), (10)). Business accounts and separately established fiduciary or trust accounts are excluded by § 62-6-102.
The form in § 62-6-104(a) supplies single-party and survivorship-joint POD choices; substantially following it establishes the selected account type. Another form is governed by the account type most closely reflecting depositor intent (§ 62-6-104(b)). A POD designation is permitted on single-party and multiple-party accounts (§ 62-6-103), subject to the survivorship restriction in § 62-6-202(c). Institutions may contract for either form (§ 62-6-301).
Rights during life and after death
During life, the original parties own the account in proportion to net contributions unless clear and convincing evidence shows another intent; beneficiaries have no current right to its balance (§ 62-6-201). The beneficial-ownership rules govern disputes among claimants separately from payment according to account terms (§ 62-6-106).
When an original party dies, surviving original parties generally take first (§ 62-6-202(a)). On the last party’s death, surviving POD beneficiaries take (§ 62-6-202(b)(2)). If several survive, they receive equal undivided shares without later survivorship. If none survives, the balance belongs to the last party’s estate. A POD designation on a multiple-party account without survivorship is ineffective (§ 62-6-202(c)).
Change and payment
A party may alter account terms or stop or vary payment through signed notice received by the institution during life (§ 62-6-203(a)). Clear and convincing evidence, including express provisions in a will, can alter an account right of survivorship (§ 62-6-203(b)). This rule addresses the right of survivorship; the statute does not describe a separate will method for replacing a POD beneficiary. A surviving spouse on a multiple-party account has the priority stated in § 62-6-202(a), subject to the account’s form and this evidence rule.
On request, the institution may pay surviving beneficiaries with proof that they outlived all parties, or pay the deceased last party’s personal representative on the proof required by § 62-6-303. A minor beneficiary may be paid as a court orders or under § 62-5-103 (§ 62-6-305). Payment under the account terms normally discharges the institution even if claimants’ beneficial rights differ (§ 62-6-306(a), (d)). The institution can lose that protection after timely written stop notice from listed persons and may refuse payment when it has reason to believe a rights dispute exists (§ 62-6-306(b)-(c)).
What trips people up
The multiple-party account’s survivorship choice controls whether its POD designation works. Section 62-6-202(c) makes a POD designation ineffective if that account is without survivorship; the sample form in § 62-6-104(a) shows the alternatives.
The will language in § 62-6-203(b) is a rule about altering survivorship with clear and convincing evidence. A change to account terms uses signed notice received during the party’s life under § 62-6-203(a).
Common questions
Do surviving POD beneficiaries share equally? Yes. Section 62-6-202(b)(2) gives two or more survivors equal undivided shares.
What if all POD beneficiaries die before the last owner? The balance goes to that owner’s estate (§ 62-6-202(b)(2)).
Does bank payment settle an ownership dispute? No. Section 62-6-306(d) preserves disputes among parties and successors despite the bank’s payment protection.
Statutes and sources
The verbatim statutory passages and current official chapter URL appear above; accessed October 8, 2026.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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