South Carolina Essential Legal Life Documents for Baby Boomers

In South Carolina, you can make a living trust to avoid probate for virtually any asset you ownreal estate, bank accounts, vehicles, and so on. You need to create a trust document (it's similar to a will), naming someone to take over as trustee after your death (called a successor trustee).

In South Carolina, probate for small estates is required. A small estate is considered to be an estate that is valued at $25,000 or less in assets and no real property. If those two conditions are met for a small estate, a case will have to be filed with the probate court.

Children - if there is no surviving married or civil partner If there is no surviving partner, the children of a person who has died without leaving a will inherit the whole estate. This applies however much the estate is worth. If there are two or more children, the estate will be divided equally between them.

You can use the simplified small estate process in South Carolina if the value of property passing by will or under state law, less liens and encumbrances, is $25,000 or less (not counting exempt property, costs of administration, funeral expenses, and medical expenses of last illness).

South Carolina's intestacy law says that if you die without a Will and have children and a spouse, your spouse will receive one-half of your intestate estate and your children will receive the other half. If there are no children, the surviving spouse would receive the entire intestate estate.

If the total value of all the assets you leave behind is less than a certain amount, the people who inherit your personal property -- that's anything except real estate -- may be able to skip probate entirely. The exact amount depends on state law, and varies hugely.

For an estate to go through probate, no estate planning is required. A person's estate can pass through probate whether they died without a will or with one, as long as it has assets that are subject to the process. For an estate to avoid probate, the deceased must own no assets subject to probate at the time of death.