South Carolina Small Estate Affidavit

The $45,000 limit, and what actually counts

The 30-day waiting period

30 days measured from the date of death, not from any filing or notice. Two independent hooks: the opening words of § 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 ... shall make payment ...'), and § 62-3-1201(a)(2), which requires the affidavit to 'state that thirty days have elapsed since the death of the decedent.' Form 420ES para. 3 states: 'More than thirty (30) days have passed since the Decedent's death.' No maximum deadline is stated in Part 12, but § 62-3-108(A)(1) bars probate/appointment proceedings more than TEN years after death (amended by 2024 Act No. 122 (S.845), eff May 13, 2024).

Who can sign the affidavit

A person claiming to be the "successor" of the decedent (heir at law if intestate, or devisee if testate), or someone acting on the successor's behalf. § 62-3-1201(a)(4) expressly includes, as a claiming successor, a person who remitted payment for the decedent's reasonable funeral expenses (proof of payment attached). Signed under oath before a notary; the probate judge must then be satisfied the affiant is entitled to the property and must countersign.

Either. § 62-3-1201(a)(1) counts both 'the decedent's property passing under the decedent's will plus the decedent's property passing by intestacy,' and Form 420ES asks for 'successors (Example: heirs or devisees).' Independently of the affidavit, anyone in possession of the decedent's will has a statutory duty to deliver it to the probate court, and in practice SC probate courts require the original will to be filed with (or before) the 420ES so the judge can verify who the devisees are before countersigning. The disqualifier is not a will. It is a pending or granted application/petition for appointment of a personal representative (§ 62-3-1201(a)(3)).

The affidavit must be signed in front of a notary. Most banks and UPS Stores have a notary; many charge under $15.

Can it transfer a house or land in South Carolina?

No. South Carolina has no small-estate affidavit for real property. There is no SC analogue to Cal. Prob. Code § 13200. § 62-3-1201 reaches only indebtedness owed to the decedent, tangible personal property, and instruments evidencing a debt, obligation, stock, or chose in action; § 62-3-1201(b) additionally directs securities transfer agents to re-register stock. Official Form 420ES (Rev. 03/2026) affirmatively requires the affiant to swear the estate 'does not include any interest in real property.' The presence of any probate real property therefore disqualifies the small-estate affidavit entirely, regardless of value. Real property devolves at death directly to devisees/heirs under § 62-3-101, but that devolution is subject to creditor claims and the PR's powers and does not by itself produce marketable record title. To clear title in SC you open an estate (informal or formal) and the PR executes a Deed of Distribution under §§ 62-3-907 and 62-3-908 (Scca Form 400ES), which is recorded in the county Register of Deeds; § 62-3-907(B)-(C) makes the deed of distribution the operative release/transfer instrument. Alternatively a formal testacy/determination-of-heirs order under §§ 62-3-401 to 62-3-413 (see § 62-3-412 on finality of an order 'determining heirs') establishes heirship of record. Note also the SC summary administration track in § 62-3-1203 (same $45,000 figure) does permit real property, but it is not an affidavit procedure: it requires a personal representative to be appointed, an inventory and appraisement filed, and notice to creditors published under § 62-3-801, then allows immediate distribution and a closing statement under § 62-3-1204. § 62-3-1203(b) provides an alternative summary track with no dollar cap where the appointed PR is the sole devisee (testate) or sole heir (intestate).

How to use a small estate affidavit in South Carolina

1. 1

   Confirm you're under the limit and past the wait

   Add up the property that passes through the estate and check it against the $45,000 ceiling. Value of the entire probate estate (property passing under the will plus property passing by intestacy), wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, must not exceed $45,000. Non-probate assets (joint-with-survivorship, POD/TOD, beneficiary-designated life insurance/retirement, trust assets) are excluded from the count. Real property may not be included at all, the affidavit reaches only personal property.

2. 2

   Gather the documents

   You'll need certified copies of the death certificate: order at least three, since institutions often keep one: plus account numbers, the vehicle title or VIN, and the names and addresses of every heir.

3. 3

   Complete the affidavit

   Fill in Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property Pursuant to Small Estate Proceeding (S.C. Code Ann. § 62-3-1201; SCCA Form 420ES), must be approved/countersigned by the probate judge and filed with the probate court, listing the decedent, the heirs and their relationships, the assets and their values.

4. 4

   Sign it in front of a notary

   Sign in front of a notary public. Banks, credit unions and shipping stores all offer notarization, usually for a small fee.

5. 5

   File it with the probate court

   Filing and judicial approval are both mandatory. South Carolina is not a present-it-to-the-bank state. § 62-3-1201(a)(5) requires the affidavit to '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'; § 62-3-1201(a)(6) requires it to be filed in that same probate court. Court: the county Probate Court. An order does issue: Form 420ES pages 9-11 contain a proposed 'Order for Payment or Delivery' signed by the Probate Court Judge, directing payment/delivery to each named successor with percentage interests, and stating 'Upon issuance of this Order, this matter is hereby closed.' The certified affidavit + order is what is presented to the bank, employer, transfer agent or DMV. Filing fee: governed by the general probate fee schedule in S.C. Code Ann. § 8-21-770, based on gross probate estate value, under $5,000 = $25.00; $5,000-$19,999 = $45.00; $20,000-$59,999 = $67.50 (a $45,000 small estate therefore typically costs $67.50). Counties may add small certified-copy charges. Confirm current amounts with the county probate court before publishing a fee.

6. 6

   Present it to whoever holds the property

   § 62-3-1201(a) is mandatory on the holder: a person indebted to the decedent or holding the decedent's tangible personal property or instruments 'shall make payment.. or deliver' upon presentation of the conforming affidavit. § 62-3-1201(b) requires a securities transfer agent to change registered ownership on the corporation's books upon presentation. § 62-3-1202 supplies the safe harbor: the payor/deliverer 'is discharged and released to the same extent as if he dealt with a personal representative of the decedent,' 'is not required to see to the application of the personal property.. or to inquire into the truth of any statement in the affidavit,' and any person presented with a valid unrevoked affidavit '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."' That exact sentence is printed at the foot of the Order page of Form 420ES, so a bank that refuses a properly countersigned 420ES is refusing a statutory duty, and the magic-language footer is what unlocks the safe harbor. Practical note: because a SC probate judge has already countersigned and issued an Order for Payment or Delivery, SC institutions are generally more cooperative than in pure self-executing-affidavit states; deliver a certified copy from the probate court, not a photocopy.

Where to take the signed affidavit

Debts and your personal liability

The statute does not require the affiant to list, notify, or pay creditors, and there is no published notice to creditors in the § 62-3-1201 track (contrast § 62-3-1203 summary administration, which does require publication of notice to creditors under § 62-3-801). Form 420ES does require listing liens and encumbrances against the scheduled assets (with proof of encumbrance attached) because they reduce the value tested against the $45,000 cap. Affiant/recipient liability: § 62-3-1202 provides that '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.' So a successor who collects and distributes remains personally exposed if a PR is later appointed, if a creditor with a superior claim surfaces, or if an omitted heir/devisee appears. A person who paid reasonable funeral expenses is expressly a claiming successor under § 62-3-1201(a)(4) and can use the affidavit to be reimbursed.

When you can’t use it

South Carolina takes the affidavit route off the table when:

• Entire probate estate, less liens and encumbrances, exceeds $45,000
• Any application or petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction (§ 62-3-1201(a)(3))
• Fewer than 30 days have elapsed since the date of death (§ 62-3-1201(a)(2))
• The estate includes any interest in real property, real property cannot pass under this affidavit (Scca Form 420ES para. 6; § 62-3-1201 reaches only debts, tangible personal property, and instruments evidencing a debt, obligation, stock, or chose in action)
• The probate judge is not satisfied the claimant is entitled to payment or delivery (§ 62-3-1201(a)(5)), the judge may refuse to countersign and require a regular estate
• Decedent not domiciled in SC and no decedent property located in the SC county where filed (venue failure under § 62-3-1201(a)(5)-(6))
• Contested heirship/entitlement, unknown or minor successors, or a disputed will, practically forces formal probate because the judge must affirmatively approve

If any of those apply, a probate attorney is the right call. A typical small-estate proceeding runs $1,000–$3,000 plus the court’s fee.

South Carolina small estate affidavit FAQ

Statute and sources

Last verified July 29, 2026. 2025 S.C. Act No. 26 (H.3472), signed by the Governor and effective May 8, 2025, raised the small-estate figure from $25,000 to $45,000 in three places: § 62-3-1201(a)(1) (affidavit for collection of personal property), § 62-3-1203(a) (summary administration), and § 62-3-1204(a)(1)(i) (closing statement). Scca Form 420ES was reissued (Revised 03/2026) to reflect $45,000. Separately, 2024 S.C. Act No. 122 (S.845), eff. May 13, 2024, amended § 62-3-108 (ultimate ten-year time limit on probate/appointment proceedings), adding subsection (A)(2)(d) permitting appointment proceedings regardless of date of death solely to allow a claim under the federal pact Act, and conforming subsection (B). Before 2014 the threshold was $10,000; 2013 Act No. 100 (eff. Jan. 1, 2014) raised it to $25,000. No inflation indexing exists. Do not expect an automatic 2026 or 2027 increase.

• S.C. Code Ann. § 62-3-1201 (Collection of personal property by affidavit)
• S.C. Code Ann. § 62-3-1202 (Effect of affidavit; safe harbor for payors)
• S.C. Code Ann. § 62-3-1203 (Small estates; summary administrative procedure)
• S.C. Code Ann. § 62-3-1204 (Small estates; closing by sworn statement of PR)
• S.C. Code Ann. § 62-3-101 (Devolution of real property at death)
• S.C. Code Ann. § 62-3-907, 62-3-908 (Deed of distribution; evidence of title)
• S.C. Code Ann. § 8-21-770 (Probate court filing fees)
• 2025 S.C. Act No. 26 (H.3472), §§ 1-3, eff. May 8, 2025 ($25,000 to $45,000)

• scstatehouse.gov(opens in a new tab)
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• sccourts.org(opens in a new tab)
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• scstatehouse.gov(opens in a new tab)
• sccourts.org(opens in a new tab)
• sccourts.org(opens in a new tab)

Kinclaim is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. We provide self-help software and statutory forms.