South Carolina: Small Estate Affidavit Thresholds & Procedure

Requirements one by one

Governing law

S.C. Code Ann. § 62-3-1201, "Collection of personal property by
affidavit," sets the eligibility conditions and the procedure. § 62-3-
1202, "Effect of affidavit," separately covers what protection a holder
gets once it pays out on a qualifying affidavit.

Dollar threshold

$45,000 or less for the entire probate estate — defined in the statute
as the decedent's property passing under the will plus the decedent's
property passing by intestacy, wherever located, less liens and
encumbrances. This figure was just raised from $25,000 by 2025 Act No.
26 (H.3472), signed by the Governor and effective May 8, 2025 — already
in force well before this page's verification date. The same act also
raised the parallel thresholds in South Carolina's summary-
administration statute (§ 62-3-1203) and its closing-by-sworn-statement
statute (§ 62-3-1204) to the same $45,000 figure.

Court filing required?

Yes, in a hybrid sense. Unlike states where the affidavit goes straight
to the bank with no court involvement at all, South Carolina's version
must be (a) approved and countersigned by the probate judge for the
decedent's county of domicile (or, if the decedent wasn't domiciled in
South Carolina, the county where the property sits) — and only once the
judge is satisfied the successor is actually entitled to the property —
and (b) filed in that county's probate court. There's no hearing in the
ordinary case, but a judge's review and signature are still required
before the affidavit has any effect.

Waiting period after death

30 days.

Works with a will, intestacy, or both?

Both. The statute's own definition of "the entire probate estate" is
explicitly "the decedent's property passing under the decedent's will
plus the decedent's property passing by intestacy" — the procedure
doesn't restrict eligibility to one or the other.

Does it cover real property?

No. The state probate court's own current affidavit form (SCCA 420ES)
states directly that the qualifying estate value "does not include any
interest in real property" — real estate isn't just excluded from what
the affidavit can transfer, it's excluded from the estate-value
calculation used to decide eligibility in the first place. An estate that
includes any real property needs a different route (typically a formal
or informal probate administration) regardless of the estate's overall
size.

Signature formalities

The statute itself doesn't spell out a witness or notary requirement in
its own text, but the state's official form (SCCA 420ES) requires the
affiant's signature to be "sworn to and subscribed" before a notary
public as part of the verification section — there's no separate witness
signature line anywhere on the form.

Protection for the bank/holder

Strong, and structured a little differently than in some other states.
A person who pays, delivers, transfers, or issues property under a
qualifying affidavit "is discharged and released to the same extent as
if he dealt with a personal representative of the decedent," with no
duty to verify anything the affidavit says. South Carolina adds a
specific mechanical requirement to that protection: the affidavit itself
must contain the statutory sentence "No person who may act in reliance
on this affidavit shall incur any liability to the estate of the
decedent" — the state's own form has that exact language built in — and
a holder who has that language in front of it and hasn't received actual
written notice that the affidavit was revoked or terminated "must not
fail to deliver" the property. Whoever actually receives the property,
though, stays answerable to any personal representative later appointed
for the estate, or to anyone else with a superior right to it.

What trips people up

The real property exclusion is the easiest detail to overlook, since the
statute's own definition of the dollar-figure calculation ("the entire
probate estate ... wherever located") sounds broad enough to include
everything the decedent owned — it's the official form, not the bare
statute text, that makes clear real estate is carved out of both the
value calculation and the affidavit's reach entirely. A second trap:
assuming this is a pure no-court, bank-facing shortcut the way some other
states run one — it isn't. A probate judge still has to review, approve,
and countersign the affidavit and it still has to be filed with the
probate court, even without a full hearing, so budgeting some court
processing time (and the required court filing) is still part of using
this procedure.

Common questions

Do I need to go to court to use this? Yes, in a limited way — the
affidavit must be approved, countersigned by the probate judge, and
filed with the probate court, though there's typically no hearing.

Does the $45,000 limit include real estate? No. Real property isn't
counted toward the threshold or reachable through this affidavit at all;
if the estate includes any real property, this shortcut isn't available
regardless of the estate's total value.

Can I use this if my relative had a will? Yes — the statute covers
property passing under a will as well as property passing by intestate
succession.

How long do I have to wait after the death? 30 days.

Statutes and sources

• S.C. Code Ann. § 62-3-1201(a) — "Thirty days after the death of a
  decedent, any person indebted to the decedent or having possession of
  tangible personal property or an instrument evidencing a debt,
  obligation, stock, or chose in action belonging to the decedent shall
  make payment of the indebtedness or deliver the tangible personal
  property or the instrument evidencing the debt, obligation, stock, or
  chose in action to a person claiming to be the successor of the
  decedent upon being presented an affidavit made by or on behalf of the
  successor. Before this affidavit may be presented to collect the
  decedent's personal property, it must: (1) state that the value of the
  entire probate estate (the decedent's property passing under the
  decedent's will plus the decedent's property passing by intestacy),
  wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed
  forty-five thousand dollars; (2) state that thirty days have elapsed
  since the death of the decedent; (3) state that no application or
  petition for the appointment of a personal representative is pending or
  has been granted in any jurisdiction; (4) state that the claiming
  successor, which for the purposes of this section includes a person
  who remitted payment for reasonable funeral expenses, is entitled to
  payment or delivery of the property; (5) be approved and countersigned
  by the probate judge of the county of the decedent's domicile at the
  time of his death, or if the decedent was not domiciled in this State,
  in the county in which the property of the decedent is located, and
  only upon the judge's satisfaction that the successor is entitled to
  payment or delivery of the property; and (6) be filed in the probate
  court for the county of the decedent's domicile at the time of his
  death, or, if the decedent was not domiciled in this State, in the
  county in which property of the decedent is located." —
  https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t62c003.php (accessed 2026-07-06)
• S.C. Code Ann. § 62-3-1201, Effect of Amendment — "2025 Act No. 26,
  SECTION 1, in (a)(1), substituted \"forty-five thousand dollars\" for
  \"twenty-five thousand dollars\"." —
  https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t62c003.php (accessed 2026-07-06)
• S.C. Code Ann. § 62-3-1202 — "The person paying, delivering,
  transferring, or issuing personal property or the evidence thereof
  pursuant to affidavit is discharged and released to the same extent as
  if he dealt with a personal representative of the decedent. He is not
  required to see to the application of the personal property or
  evidence thereof or to inquire into the truth of any statement in the
  affidavit. Any person who receives or is presented with a valid
  affidavit executed pursuant to Section 62-3-1201 and who has not
  received actual written notice of its revocation or termination must
  not fail to deliver the property identified in the affidavit, provided
  it contains the following provision: \"No person who may act in
  reliance on this affidavit shall incur any liability to the estate of
  the decedent.\" Any person to whom payment, delivery, transfer, or
  issuance is made is answerable and accountable therefor to any personal
  representative of the estate or to any other person having a superior
  right." — https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t62c003.php
  (accessed 2026-07-06)
• South Carolina Probate Court, Form SCCA 420ES — Affidavit for
  Collection of Personal Property Pursuant to Small Estate Proceeding —
  "6. The value of the entire probate estate, wherever located, less
  liens and encumbrances, does not exceed Forty-Five Thousand Dollars
  ($45,000.00) and does not include any interest in real property as
  indicated below" — https://www.sccourts.org/forms/pdf/420ES.pdf
  (accessed 2026-07-06)