Blair Cato Pickren Casterline serves clients from multiple offices across South Carolina. Their estate planning attorneys help clients create wills and trusts while guiding families through the probate process.
Probate in Sumter County
Probate Court Record
Sumter County Probate Court
Sumter County
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-5:00 PM
Office
215 North Harvin Street, Room 107, Sumter, SC 29150-4965
Website
Filing in person
Appointment required
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Sumter County →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Sumter County? →Settling an estate in Sumter County →
Probate Firms Serving Sumter County
Collins Family & Elder Law Group provides estate planning, family law, and elder law services from 15 offices across North and South Carolina. The Columbia office offers guidance on wills, trusts, powers of attorney, guardianships, conservatorships, and estate administration.
Hardy Law Firm focuses on estate planning, probate, elder law, and business law in Lexington, South Carolina. Kevin Hardy prepares wills, living wills, trusts, health care powers of attorney, and durable powers of attorney for clients across the Midlands.
Johnson DuRant, LLC is a general practice firm with offices in Manning and Santee handling estate planning, wills, trusts, and probate administration, along with real estate, business law, criminal defense, and personal injury matters for Clarendon and Orangeburg County clients.
Payne & Black is a leading elder law and estate planning firm with offices in Columbia and Rock Hill. Mitchell C. Payne is a founding board member of the Carolinas Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and a frequent lecturer on elder law, Medicaid, and asset protection.
Todd and Johnson was founded in Columbia in 1980 with a focus on estate planning, trusts, probate, and tax law. Multiple attorneys hold the Certified Specialist designation in Estate Planning and Probate Law from the SC Supreme Court, and several are Fellows of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC).
Forms for Planning and Settling an Estate in South Carolina
Free South Carolina forms to plan or settle an estate: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed and the probate forms. Prepare each form for South Carolina.
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Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
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Last Will and Testament
In South Carolina, a will is signed before 2S.C. Code § 62-2-502Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyS.C. Code § 62-2-502Verified Oct 19, 2026View source.
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Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in South Carolina
Free calculators and checklists to plan or settle an estate in South Carolina: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay and taxes. Run each tool.
How Much Does Probate Cost?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in South Carolina costs an estimated $27,462S.C. Code § 62-3-721 (compensation of any person the PR employs, including an attorney); § 62-1-111 (costs and attorney's fees in a formal proceeding); § 62-3-720 (litigation expenses)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. Attorney fees run 2.1%Modeled estimate under S.C. Code § 62-3-721 (compensation of any person the PR employs, including an attorney); § 62-1-111 (costs and attorney's fees in a formal proceeding); § 62-3-720 (litigation expenses): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.3%Modeled estimate under S.C. Code § 62-3-721 (compensation of any person the PR employs, including an attorney); § 62-1-111 (costs and attorney's fees in a formal proceeding); § 62-3-720 (litigation expenses): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate under a reasonable-compensation standard.
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How Do I Settle an Estate?
Settling an estate in South Carolina: the personal representative files the estate inventory within 90 daysS.C. Code §§ 62-3-706, 62-3-707, 62-3-708Verified Sep 15, 2026View source of appointment; creditors have 8 monthsSC Code §§ 62-3-801, 62-3-803, 62-3-805, 62-3-806Verified Oct 19, 2026View source to present claims; a simple estate closes in 6 months to 9 months.
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How Much Can an Executor Charge?
South Carolina pays executors reasonable compensationS.C. Code § 62-3-719 (up to 5% of personal property + real property sale proceeds; min $50; court may authorize above 5% for extraordinary services)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, typically 2.2%Estimated from the 16 state statutes that set an executor fee schedule (median and interquartile range at this estate value)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.8%Estimated from the 16 state statutes that set an executor fee schedule (median and interquartile range at this estate value)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate.
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Do I Need Probate?
In South Carolina, estates valued at $45,000S.C. Code § 62-3-1201Verified Sep 8, 2026View source or less use the Small Estate AffidavitS.C. Code § 62-3-1201Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, 30 daysS.C. Code § 62-3-1201Verified Sep 8, 2026View source after death, a court filing short of full probate.
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What Are the Creditor Claim Deadlines?
In South Carolina, creditors have 8 monthsS.C. Code § 62-3-803Verified Sep 8, 2026View source from first publication of the creditor notice to present claims; late claims are barred.
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Can I Self-File Probate?
South Carolina has no statewide fill-in probate petition, so the opening petition is drafted as a legal pleading, and informal probate is availableS.C. Code § 62-3-301Verified Sep 8, 2026View source.
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