Summerville is home. Our office is on Linwood Lane, a few minutes from Hutchinson Square and Azalea Park, and Jack and Tara both graduated from Summerville High School. Most of our clients live within the town limits or just outside them in Dorchester County—though a growing share live in the Berkeley County part of town.
Where a Summerville case is heard
Dorchester County's courthouse complex—the probate court, the clerk of court and General Sessions (felony) court—is in St. George, about 28 miles up Highway 78 from Summerville. The county magistrates sit in St. George and at the Troy Knight Judicial Complex on Deming Way in Summerville, and bond hearings are held at the county detention center on Hodge Road in Summerville.
Inside the town limits, tickets written by Summerville police and town ordinance cases are heard in Summerville Municipal Court on the second floor of Town Hall, 200 S. Main Street, regardless of which county the stop happened in.
Dorchester County Probate Court
5200 E. Jim Bilton Blvd., St. George, SC 29477 · (843) 563-0105 · Website
Estates, guardianships and conservatorships for Dorchester County residents. Call before visiting; hearings are by appointment.
Dorchester County Detention Center
220 Hodge Road (off US-78), Summerville, SC 29483 · (843) 832-0215 · Website
Bond hearings for Dorchester County arrests are held here, in Summerville—not in St. George.
Dorchester County Courthouse (Clerk of Court; General Sessions and Common Pleas)
5200 E. Jim Bilton Blvd., St. George, SC 29477 · (843) 563-0160 · Website
Family Court sits at the Troy Knight Judicial Complex, 212 Deming Way, Summerville.
Dorchester County Magistrate Court – Summerville (Troy Knight Judicial Complex)
212 Deming Way, Summerville, SC 29483 · (843) 832-0370 · Website
Bond hearings, misdemeanors and tickets written by the Sheriff's Office or Highway Patrol in the Summerville area.
Summerville Municipal Court
200 S. Main Street, 2nd Floor (Town Hall), Summerville, SC 29483 · (843) 875-2010 · Website
Tickets and ordinance cases from the Summerville Police Department.
Probate for Summerville families
Estates for Summerville addresses in Dorchester County are opened with the Dorchester County Probate Court in St. George; addresses in the Berkeley County part of Summerville (Nexton, Cane Bay, Sangaree) file in Moncks Corner. Tara served as a Dorchester County Associate Probate Judge and knows both dockets.
How we help Summerville families
- Estate planning — wills, revocable trusts, powers of attorney and living wills drafted for South Carolina law and recorded in Dorchester County where required.
- Probate and estate administration — opening, administering and closing estates in the Dorchester County Probate Court, small-estate affidavits, and disputes when they arise.
- Guardianship and conservatorship — for an aging parent or a minor, contested or not.
- Criminal defense — bond hearings at the Dorchester County Detention Center on Hodge Road in Summerville, misdemeanors in magistrate and municipal court, and felonies in Dorchester County General Sessions, defended by a former officer.
- Personal injury — car, truck and motorcycle crashes and dog bites, through our dedicated injury site.
Getting to our office from Summerville
Follow North Main Street (US-17A) to West 2nd South Street, then Central Avenue, South Laurel Street, West Carolina Avenue, and turn onto Linwood Lane. The drive is about 3.6 miles and 8 minutes in normal traffic.
Directions from Summerville in Google Maps
About Summerville
| County | Dorchester County, Berkeley County, Charleston County |
|---|---|
| Status | Incorporated town |
| ZIP codes | 29483, 29485, 29486 |
| Population (2020 census) | 50,915 |
| Landmarks | Azalea Park (site of the Flowertown Festival, held since 1972/73); Hutchinson Square (downtown square on S Main St, restaurants/shops, Third Thursday events); Summerville Historic District (NRHP) / Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site / Summerville Medical Center |
Live in Summerville? Call Frost first.
Consultations at our Summerville office, or by phone and video when the drive is not worth it.
Questions people ask
Which probate court handles an estate for a Summerville address?
The Dorchester County Probate Court in St. George. Estates are opened in the county where the person lived at death.
Where is the bond hearing after an arrest in Summerville?
County arrests are heard at the Dorchester County Detention Center on Hodge Road in Summerville, usually within 24 hours. Municipal charges are heard by the municipal judge for that town.
Do you meet clients in Summerville?
Consultations are at our Summerville office or by phone and video. For estate-plan signings we can sometimes arrange a meeting closer to you; ask when you call.
Related pages
Estate planning
Wills, trusts, powers of attorney and living wills for South Carolina families.
Learn moreProbate
Estate administration, executor guidance, small estates, disputes and guardianship.
Learn moreCriminal defense
Drug charges, domestic violence, bond, warrants, traffic and expungements.
Learn more