Public Notice Guide: South Carolina Probate Code
Probate of Wills and Testaments
Notice of the delivery of will to judge of probate
62-2-901
Section | Notice | Where | When |
|---|---|---|---|
62-2-901 | Upon receipt of the will, the judge of probate shall file the same in probate court and if proceedings for the probate are not begun within thirty days the judge shall publish a notice of such delivery and filing | newspaper in the county of the probate court | once a week for three consecutive weeks |
Exact wording:
(a) After the death of a testator, a person having custody of a will of the testator shall deliver such will, within thirty days of actual notice or knowledge of the testator’s death to the judge of the probate court having jurisdiction to admit the same or to a person named as personal representative in the will who shall deliver the will to the judge of the probate court. Upon receipt of the will, the judge of probate shall file the same in probate court and if proceedings for the probate are not begun within thirty days the judge shall publish a notice of such delivery and filing in one of the newspapers in the county of the probate court for once a week for three consecutive weeks.
(b) Any person who intentionally or fraudulently destroys, suppresses, conceals, or fails to deliver the will to the judge of the probate court having jurisdiction to admit it to probate is liable to any person aggrieved for any damages that may be sustained by such action or inaction.
(c) Any person who intentionally or fraudulently destroys, suppresses, conceals, or fails to deliver the will to the judge of the probate court having jurisdiction to admit it to probate, after being ordered by the court in a proceeding brought for the purpose of compelling delivery, is subject to a penalty for contempt of court.
Notice to creditors
62-3-801
A notice of the appointment of a personal representative of a will and testament must be published. The notice shall notify creditors of the estate that they have eight months to present their claims after the date of the first publication. The notice shall be placed in a newspaper of general circulation in the county upon the appointment of the representative.
Section | Notice | Where | When |
|---|---|---|---|
62-3-801 | A notice of the appointment of a personal representative to a will and testament to notify creditors | A newspaper of general circulation in the county | Upon appointment of a personal representative |
Exact wording:
“(a) Unless notice has already been given under this section, a personal representative upon his appointment must publish a notice to creditors once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county announcing his appointment and address and notifying creditors of the estate to present their claims within eight months after the date of the first publication of the notice or be forever barred.
(b) A personal representative may give written notice by mail or other delivery to any creditor, notifying the creditor to present his claim within one year of the decedent’s death, or within sixty days from the mailing or other delivery of such notice, whichever is earlier, or be forever barred. Written notice is the notice described in (a) above or a similar notice.
(c) The personal representative is not liable to any creditor or to any successor of the decedent for giving or failing to give notice under this section.”
Notice of the disposition of unclaimed assets
62-3-914
A notice shall be published to address all persons that may be interested in any unclaimed assets of an estate. The notice shall state a day and time that any interested individual may come to court and mediate their interest in the estate. The notice must be placed once a week for three weeks in a newspaper in the county where the court is held. If determined by the courts the notice must also be placed in one more newspaper where interested parties are located. After publication of the notice copies of the notice in the newspapers and an affidavit form the publisher of the newspaper must be filed with the courts.
Section | Notice | Where | When |
|---|---|---|---|
62-3-914 | A notice for the disposition of unclaimed assets to any interested parties stating a day and time | A newspaper in the county where the court is located and if determined by the courts a newspaper located where interested parties may be located | Once a week for three weeks |
Exact wording:
“(a) If after the expiration of eight months from the appointment of the personal representative of a decedent it appears to the satisfaction of the court by whom the appointment was granted that the personal representative of the estate is unable to ascertain the whereabouts of a person entitled to be heir or devisee of the estate or whether a person who, if living, would be entitled as heir or devisee of this estate is dead or alive, the court may issue a notice addressed to all persons interested in the estate as heirs or devisees calling on the person whose whereabouts or the fact of whose death is unknown, his personal representatives, or heirs or devisees, to appear before the court on a certain day and hour as specified in this notice and to show cause why the personal representative should not be ordered to distribute the estate as if the person whose whereabouts or the fact of whose death is unknown had died before the decedent, and notifying all persons entitled to the estate as heir or devisee, or otherwise, to appear on a designated day and time before the court to intervene for their interest in the estate. The day fixed in the notice, on which cause must be shown, must not be less than one month after the date of the first publication of the notice. (b) The notice must be published once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper published in the county in which the court is held. The court has the right, in its discretion, to order the notice to be published once a week for three successive weeks in one other newspaper published in another place most likely to give notice to interested persons. (c) The publication of the notice as prescribed in subsection (b) must be proved by filing with the court copies of the newspapers containing the publication of the notice and the affidavit of the publishers or printers of the respective newspapers. (d) At the time fixed in the notice for cause to be shown, due proof of publication having been made and filed as required by subsection…”
Notice of the return and sale of real estate
62-3-1309
A return may be made in terms of real estate to a personal representative of a will and testament as long as it is within thirty days. If the courts decide that the real estate should be sold then a notice of the sale shall be placed in a newspaper in the county of the probate court once a week for three weeks prior to the sale. The sale shall be held the first Monday of each month or if that Monday is a legal holiday then the first day after that.
Section | Notice | Where | When |
|---|---|---|---|
62-3-1309 | A notice of the return and sale of real estate from a will and testament | A newspaper in the county of the probate court | Once a week for three weeks prior to the sale |
Exact wording:
“The time to answer a summons and petition for sale of real property of a decedent is the same as the time to answer in any civil litigation case. Interested persons who wish to file an answer or return to the petition must do so in writing in the same manner as an answer to a complaint in other civil litigation cases. In addition the court may hear motions and accept such subsequent pleadings as would be heard or accepted in other civil litigation cases. After the filing and service of the summons and petition and the time for filing responsive pleadings has elapsed, the court will convene a hearing on the merits of the petition. If based on the evidence presented at the hearing the court finds the real property should be sold it shall then, in its discretion, either (a) order the personal representative to sell the same at private sale upon such terms and conditions as the court may impose; or (b) proceed to sell the same upon the next or some subsequent convenient sales day after publishing a notice of such sale three weeks prior thereto in some paper published in the county. Upon the sale being made, after the payment of the costs and expenses thereof, the proceeds of the sale will be paid over to the personal representative. The personal representative shall administer such proceeds in like manner as proceeds of personal property coming into his hands. Nothing in this part may be construed to abridge homestead exemptions. Notice of hearings in regard to the petition will be provided to interested persons in accordance with Section 62-1-401.”
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