Dorchester County Probate Court: A Guide for Summerville Families

Who files here

An estate is opened in the county where the person was domiciled at death, not where they died or where the property sits. Summerville proper, Knightsville, Lincolnville, Ridgeville, Harleyville, Reevesville, St. George and the Dorchester County side of Ladson all file in St. George. The exceptions trip people up: Nexton, Cane Bay, Carnes Crossroads and much of the Highway 17-A corridor carry Summerville addresses but lie in Berkeley County and file in Moncks Corner. The county on the property tax bill or voter registration settles it.

Before you file: the worksheet and the seminar

Dorchester County is unusual in requiring preparation before a family files on its own. If the decedent lived in the county and died within the last ten years, a person who wants to open the estate without an attorney must download and complete the court’s Opening Probate Worksheet, print it and return it with the documents it lists. Once an estate clerk approves the worksheet, the court assigns a date for an Opening Probate Seminar, where staff explain the process and help complete the opening documents. A family that does not want to attend the seminar must retain an attorney. If more than ten years have passed since the death, the court must hold a hearing to determine heirs, with a formal petition, personal service on every heir, publication and a $150 filing fee; the court itself recommends a lawyer for that.

Opening an estate, step by step

1. Deliver the will. Whoever holds the original will must deliver it to the court within thirty days of death (S.C. Code § 62-2-901), whether or not an estate is opened. The court files it for record (Form 306ES) for a $10 fee.
2. Apply for appointment. Form 300ES, the Application (Informal) or Petition (Formal) for Probate of Will or Appointment, with a certified death certificate, the original will, and the names and addresses of every heir and devisee. The personal representative named in the will has priority; without a will, the surviving spouse, then other heirs, in the order the Code sets.
3. Pay the fee. The court collects $25 when the estate is opened and the balance of the estate fee under S.C. Code § 8-21-770 when the inventory is filed. Fees run from $25 for estates under $5,000 to $95 plus 0.15 percent of the value between $100,000 and $600,000, and 0.25 percent above that.
4. Bond and waivers. A personal representative not excused by the will must post a fiduciary bond (Form 341ES) set by the court; heirs can sign waivers that reduce or eliminate the bond within the limits the court allows.
5. Receive the certificate of appointment. Letters are issued once the application is approved. Banks, the DMV and brokerages act on a certified copy ($5 each).
6. Give notice. Within thirty days of appointment the personal representative sends Form 305ES, Information to Heirs and Devisees, to everyone with an interest, and publishes notice to creditors once a week for three weeks in a county newspaper. Creditors have eight months from first publication to file claims (S.C. Code § 62-3-801).
7. File the inventory. Form 350ES, the Inventory and Appraisement, listing every probate asset at its date-of-death value, is due within ninety days of appointment, along with the balance of the filing fee.
8. Pay, distribute and close. After the creditor period, valid claims and taxes are paid, real estate passes by deed of distribution (Form 400ES) recorded with the Register of Deeds, and the estate closes with a proposal for distribution or an accounting and receipts. A straightforward Dorchester County estate typically closes ten to fourteen months after it opens.

Small estates

If the probate estate is $45,000 or less in personal property, the family can skip the steps above and file Form 420ES, the small estate affidavit, thirty days after death. The judge countersigns it and the certified affidavit is presented to the bank or the DMV. The same worksheet-and-seminar routine applies to families filing without a lawyer.

Guardianships, conservatorships and minors

The court’s Therapeutic Division handles adult guardianships and conservatorships: petitions with medical evidence, examiner and guardian ad litem reports, hearings, and the annual reports and accountings that follow. Conservatorships for minors who inherit or receive settlement money are filed here too, and the court approves minor settlements of $25,000 or less; larger settlements go to the circuit court. Guardians of a child’s person are appointed by the Family Court, not the probate court.

Getting there and what to expect

From Summerville, take Highway 78 west through Ridgeville to St. George, about thirty-five minutes; the courthouse complex is on E. Jim Bilton Boulevard with free parking. Call before you drive: hearings are by appointment, and the clerks can tell you whether a filing is complete, though not what to put in it. Dress as you would for church or a job interview.

Do you need a lawyer?

Not for every estate. A will that leaves everything to one person, heirs who agree, a house that will be sold and accounts that are easy to value can often be handled by a careful family member who attends the seminar and follows the forms. Call us when there is no will and the family tree is complicated, when real estate will be kept or divided, when an heir is a minor or has a disability, when creditors exceed the assets, when the personal representative lives out of state, or when anyone is unhappy. Tara Frost handled these files from the bench; she knows what the court will ask for and what delays it.

Questions people ask

Related pages

• The probate process

  Every step from delivering the will to closing the estate, with the deadlines that matter.

  Learn more

• Small estates

  The $45,000 affidavit (Form 420ES), the fee, what counts toward the limit and the summary procedure for small estates.

  Learn more

• Berkeley County Probate Court

  Address, hours, walk-in and drop-box rules, forms, fees and timelines at the Moncks Corner courthouse.

  Learn more