South Carolina Executor and Estate Kit: the $25,000 Small Estate Route After 30 Days, First Month Checklist and Estate Ledger

Who it is for

Whoever is settling the estate of someone who lived in South Carolina. Through a court office. Filed with the county probate court, which issues an order.

Not the right fit if

The person didn't live in or own property in South Carolina, or a will contest or family dispute means you need an estate attorney. Not a form preparation or legal service.

Why it is different

• Sources, checked November 2026: Greenville County Probate Court: Small estate proceedings brochure (Form 420ES); Lexington County Probate Court: Estate administration; Nolo (secondary source): Probate Shortcuts in South Carolina (Nolo, updated 10/21/2024); Probate's Office FAQ (Fairfield County, South Carolina, Probate Court); Nolo (secondary source): How to Make a Will in South Carolina (Nolo, updated September 2025).
• All 11 South Carolina facts are confirmed: on an official page, or where none could be read, on a vetted secondary source marked as such.

What is inside

• South Carolina small estate route. Personal property and cash accounts worth $25,000 or less net of liens. It can't be used to distribute real estate; titled property such as cars and boats counts. Real estate in the person's name alone takes the estate out of this procedure. 30 days. At least 30 days after the death (the brochure also says 31 days in one place; ask the court). Signed before a notary. Sign and notarize the form where indicated. Through a court office. Filed with the county probate court, which issues an order. Form 420ES, Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property. A statewide probate court form; the county brochure explains it. Summary administration: A simplified probate the court can use when the entire probate estate, less liens and encumbrances, is no more than $25,000 plus the exempt property allowance, administration costs, reasonable funeral expenses and last-illness medical expenses.
• How a South Carolina will had to be signed. Two witnesses, per the county probate court's FAQ. Optional under 62-2-503 (Nolo's summary): the testator and witnesses swear before a notary that the will was signed knowingly, so the court needn't contact the witnesses. South Carolina doesn't accept an unwitnessed will in the maker's own handwriting (Nolo, September 2025). Pick witnesses who inherit nothing; under 62-2-504, as Nolo explains, a witness-beneficiary can forfeit the gift.
• South Carolina estate ledger (Excel). Assets, debts, payments and distributions; it compares the countable assets with $25,000, dates day 30 after the death and flags real estate in the person's name alone, which rules the route out.
• First 30 days, tracker and letters. The first month in order with day 30 marked, a documents and accounts tracker, and plain letters to a bank, a utility and Social Security.