Are Beneficiary Designations Protected in South Carolina?
South Carolina automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorceS.C. Code Ann. § 62-2-507Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.
A beneficiary designation on life insurance, a retirement account, a payable-on-death bank account or a transfer-on-death brokerage account decides who receives that asset at death, in South Carolina as everywhere. The designation controls over the will or trust, and an outdated one stays in force whatever the other documents say.
Yes. South Carolina automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary on divorce for these asset types: life insurance, retirement accounts, pod accounts, tod accounts, annuitiesS.C. Code Ann. § 62-2-507Verified Sep 15, 2026View source. An ERISA-governed employer plan (a 401(k), a pension) follows federal law instead and must be updated by hand whatever the state rule says.
Yes. The federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) preempts state law for an employer-sponsored plan such as a 401(k), a pension or group life insurance: the plan pays the designation on file with the plan administrator, and a qualified plan requires the spouse's consent to name anyone else (Egelhoff v. Egelhoff, 2001; Kennedy v. Plan Administrator, 2009). South Carolina sets no spousal-consent requirement of its own for an individual account.
Yes. South Carolina gives inherited IRAs full statutory protection from creditorsS.C. Code Ann. § 15-41-30(A)(13)-(14)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source. After Clark v. Rameker (2014) held that federal bankruptcy law does not protect an inherited IRA, the state statute is the shield.
No. South Carolina does not default to per stirpes for beneficiary designationsS.C. Code Ann. § 62-2-603Verified Sep 15, 2026View source: when a named beneficiary dies before the account holder, the share lapses unless the designation says per stirpes or names a contingent beneficiary.
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Divorce
What divorce does and does not undo: beneficiary designations, your will, powers of attorney, and the one account your ex stays on until you change it.
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Marriage
What married couples need in place: one joint trust or two, wills, beneficiary updates, and the spousal rights your state grants you automatically.
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Retirement
Retirement changes your financial picture. Healthcare directives, beneficiary reviews, long-term care planning, and protecting what you've built.
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Serious Diagnosis
A serious diagnosis changes priorities. Healthcare proxies, financial powers of attorney, and the documents that ensure your wishes are honored.
Learn moreForms for Planning Your Estate in South Carolina
Free forms for planning your estate in South Carolina: a will, living trust, pour-over will, both powers of attorney, living will, and TOD deed.
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.
Healthcare Power of Attorney
South Carolina requires 2S.C. Code Ann. § 62-5-504Verified Oct 15, 2026View source witnesses for a healthcare power of attorney; notarization is not requiredS.C. Code Ann. § 62-5-504Verified Oct 15, 2026View source.
Financial Power of Attorney
South Carolina treats a power of attorney as durable by defaultS.C. Code § 62-8-101 et seq.Verified Sep 20, 2026View source, and it is signed before 2S.C. Code § 62-8-101 et seq.Verified Sep 20, 2026View source witnesses and a notary.
Vehicle Transfer on Death
Name a beneficiary to inherit your vehicle at death without probate. Available in 26 states and the District of Columbia.
Living Will
In South Carolina, the living will is the Declaration of a Desire for a Natural DeathS.C. Code Ann. Title 44, Chapter 77 (§§ 44-77-10 to 44-77-160), Death With Dignity ActVerified Sep 27, 2026View source, a document of its own, apart from the healthcare power of attorney.
Tools for Planning Your Estate in South Carolina
Free tools for planning your estate in South Carolina: what a will or trust costs, whether you need a trust or TOD deed, and how documents are signed.
What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable trust in South Carolina runs $4,150Estimate: 10 hours at $415, Clio's South Carolina Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $6,225Estimate: 15 hours at $415, Clio's South Carolina Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source and a simple will $1,122Estimate: 3 hours at $374, Clio's South Carolina Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,244Estimate: 6 hours at $374, Clio's South Carolina Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
In South Carolina, four years at a public university cost about $96,888NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 330.20, public 4-year in-state tuition, fees, room and board, academic year 2022-23Verified Oct 17, 2026View source and the cost of living is 6% below the U.S. averageBEA Regional Price Parities, all items, by state, 2024Verified Oct 17, 2026View source; no state estate or inheritance tax appliesNo state estate or inheritance tax. S.C. Code Ann. § 12-16-510(A) still imposes an estate tax "in the amount of the federal credit," but § 12-16-20(2) measures that credit by IRC § 2011, which EGTRRA (P.L. 107-16 § 532) phased out for deaths after 12/31/2004 — so the levy computes to $0 (an inert pick-up tax left on the books, never repealed). SCDOR: "South Carolina has no Estate Tax for decedents dying on or after January 1, 2005." No inheritance tax and no state gift tax (neither exists in Title 12).Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
How Much Does Probate Cost?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in South Carolina costs an estimated $27,462S.C. Code § 62-3-721 (court review of the reasonableness of compensation of any person employed by the personal representative, including any attorney; refunds of excessive compensation); § 62-1-111 (award of costs and expenses, including reasonable attorney's fees, in a formal proceeding); § 62-3-720 (litigation expense reimbursement)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. Attorney fees run 2.1%S.C. Code § 62-3-721 (court review of the reasonableness of compensation of any person employed by the personal representative, including any attorney; refunds of excessive compensation); § 62-1-111 (award of costs and expenses, including reasonable attorney's fees, in a formal proceeding); § 62-3-720 (litigation expense reimbursement)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.3%S.C. Code § 62-3-721 (court review of the reasonableness of compensation of any person employed by the personal representative, including any attorney; refunds of excessive compensation); § 62-1-111 (award of costs and expenses, including reasonable attorney's fees, in a formal proceeding); § 62-3-720 (litigation expense reimbursement)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate under a reasonable-compensation standard.
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Without a will in South Carolina, a surviving spouse takes half of the estateS.C. Code § 62-2-102Verified Sep 10, 2026View source when every child of either spouse is a child of both, and descendants divide what passes to them per capita with representationS.C. Code § 62-2-106Verified Sep 10, 2026View source.
How Much Does a Revocable Living Trust Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable living trust in South Carolina runs $4,150Estimate: 10 hours at $415, Clio's South Carolina Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $6,225Estimate: 15 hours at $415, Clio's South Carolina Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for an individual, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
How Much Does a Will Cost?
An attorney-prepared will in South Carolina runs $1,122Estimate: 3 hours at $374, Clio's South Carolina Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,244Estimate: 6 hours at $374, Clio's South Carolina Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $299 up front with an online service, and probate on a $500,000 estate adds about $27,462S.C. Code § 62-3-721 (court review of the reasonableness of compensation of any person employed by the personal representative, including any attorney; refunds of excessive compensation); § 62-1-111 (award of costs and expenses, including reasonable attorney's fees, in a formal proceeding); § 62-3-720 (litigation expense reimbursement)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source.
How Does SimplyTrust Compare to LegalZoom, Trust & Will, and Other Services?
Compare what it costs to make a trust official across SimplyTrust, LegalZoom, Trust & Will, Rocket Lawyer, and Quicken WillMaker.
How Do I Name a Guardian for My Minor Children?
In South Carolina, a parent names a guardian for a minor child in a will or a separate signed writingS.C. Code §§ 21-21-25 (parent may dispose of custody and tuition of a child by last will or recorded deed), 21-21-35 (effective against any person claiming custody as guardian), 21-21-45 (custodian may recover the child), 21-21-55 (custodian takes property deeded/devised to the child and may do all acts a guardian appointed according to law might do); enforced in family court, S.C. Code § 63-3-530(A)(34), (A)(45). Probate court has no jurisdiction over a minor’s person (§ 62-5-201); a minor’s property may also go to a probate-court conservator (§ 62-5-402, priorities § 62-5-408).Verified Sep 16, 2026View source, and the nomination covers the child until the age of majority, 18S.C. Code § 15-1-320(a) (references to minors mean persons under 18, except alcoholic-beverage laws)Verified Sep 16, 2026View source.
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South Carolina Estate Planning Resources
In-depth guides covering South Carolina probate laws, trust requirements, and estate planning strategies.