Free South Carolina Living Will

In South Carolina, the living will is the Declaration of a Desire for a Natural Death, a document of its own, apart from the healthcare power of attorney.

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a person eighteen years of age or older may make a declaration of a desire for a natural death in South Carolina.

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The state whose law the document is prepared under. In Massachusetts, Michigan, New York and Oregon, treatment instructions are part of the healthcare power of attorney; those state pages lead there.

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Yes. South Carolina prints the form in the statute. The document prepared here is that form text with your entries in its blanks and your choices marked where the form has you initial them; the agent parts are omitted.

The declarant signs it in the presence of 2 adult witnesses and before a notary public.

When you can no longer make your own treatment decisions and your condition is one the statute names: terminal condition; permanent unconsciousness, as certified by your attending physician and one other physician. South Carolina defines each term in the statute, and the document prints the definitions it uses.

Yes, with a separate election. South Carolina lets the declaration direct that artificially provided nutrition and hydration be withheld or withdrawn, and requires that choice to be stated specifically in the words the statute prescribes; the document carries the election with an initials line. Pursuant to a lawfully executed declaration if the declarant fails to give instructions by initialing the appropriate statements concerning nutrition and hydration, nutrition and hydration necessary for comfort care or alleviation of pain will be provided.

South Carolina recognizes these ways to revoke it: by being defaced, torn, obliterated, or otherwise destroyed in expression of the declarant's intent to revoke by the declarant or by some person in the presence of and by the direction of the declarant; by a written revocation signed and dated by the declarant expressing his intent to revoke; by an oral expression by the declarant of his intent to revoke the Declaration.

The Living Will in South Carolina

In South Carolina, the Declaration of a Desire for a Natural Death stands on its own statute, separate from the healthcare power of attorney and with its own execution section. The document is the declaration by itself; an agent is named with the healthcare power of attorney.

South Carolina prints the form in the statute; in the statute's words, “The declaration must be substantially in the following form with the procedure and requirements for revocation of the declaration appearing either in boldface print or in all upper case letters, the characters in either case being of at least the same size as used in the rest of the declaration”. The document reproduces the form's text with the entries in its blanks and the elections marked where the form has the declarant initial them.

The declaration operates when the declarant can no longer make treatment decisions and the condition is one the statute names: terminal condition; permanent unconsciousness. Two physicians, the attending physician and one other, certify the condition before the declaration takes effect.

Signing in South Carolina takes the declarant's signature before 2 adult witnesses and a notary acknowledgment.

Legal Sources

(5)·Updated September 27, 2026

SimplyTrust Editorial

Data sourced from South Carolina statutes and official state code. How we research.

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Free tools for planning your estate in South Carolina: will and trust costs, trust or TOD deed, and the signing rules. Run each tool for South Carolina.

Do I Need a TOD Deed?

South Carolina does not authorize transfer on death deeds; sole-name real property goes through probate, at least 6 months for a simple estate, unless held in a trust or with a right of survivorship.

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Do I Need a Vehicle TOD?

South Carolina allows a transfer-on-death beneficiary designation on a vehicle title, filed through the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (SCDMV) using Form TOD-1.

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How Much Is the Federal Gift Tax?

Whether a gift owes federal gift tax, how much of the annual exclusion and lifetime exemption it uses, and whether Form 709 is due.

Calculate the Tax

What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?

An attorney-prepared revocable trust in South Carolina runs $4,150 to $6,225 and a simple will $1,122 to $2,244, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.

Calculate Costs

How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?

In South Carolina, four years at a public university cost about $96,888 and the cost of living is 6% below the U.S. average; no state estate or inheritance tax applies.

Calculate the Amount

Are My Beneficiary Designations Protected?

South Carolina automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorce; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.

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How Do I Sign Estate Documents?

In South Carolina, a will is signed before 2 witnesses, and notarization is not required.

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Will My Estate Documents Transfer?

South Carolina recognizes a will signed under the law of the place where it was signed; a will signed in South Carolina itself needs 2 witnesses, and notarization is not required.

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All South Carolina tools

South Carolina Estate Planning Resources

In-depth guides covering South Carolina probate laws, trust requirements, and estate planning strategies.

Free South Carolina Living Will

In South Carolina, the living will is the Declaration of a Desire for a Natural Death, a document of its own, apart from the healthcare power of attorney.

Progress0%

The Living Will in South Carolina

Signing in South Carolina takes the declarant's signature before 2 adult witnesses and a notary acknowledgment.

Free South Carolina Living Will

Your Information

Is this your situation?

Serious Diagnosis

Retirement

Marriage

New Baby or Adoption

Forms for Planning Your Estate in South Carolina

Healthcare Power of Attorney

HIPAA Release

Financial Power of Attorney

Vehicle Transfer on Death

Last Will and Testament

Codicil to a Will

Tools for Planning Your Estate in South Carolina

Do I Need a TOD Deed?

Do I Need a Vehicle TOD?

How Much Is the Federal Gift Tax?

What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?

How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?

Are My Beneficiary Designations Protected?

How Do I Sign Estate Documents?

Will My Estate Documents Transfer?

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South Carolina Estate Planning Resources

Free South Carolina Living Will

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