Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: in South Carolina, an estate can use collection of personal property by affidavit when the qualifying value is $45,000 or less. Real property does NOT pass that way: a house in South Carolina in sole name forces a probate whatever the estate is worth.
What this guide covers
Whether probate is required in South Carolina turns on two questions: does the estate qualify for a small-estate shortcut, and does that shortcut reach whatever real property is involved. This page answers both for South Carolina, with the statute cited, and then covers what full probate costs if the shortcut does not apply.
The affidavit route, and its limit
South Carolina’s route: collection of personal property by affidavit, under S.C. Code § 62-3-1201(a)(1) (2025 Act No. 26 (H.3472), eff. May 8, 2025).
$45,000 value of the entire probate estate, less liens and encumbrances.
state that the value of the entire probate estate (the decedent’s property passing under the decedent’s will plus the decedent’s property passing by intestacy), wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed forty-five thousand dollars;
Source: S.C. Code § 62-3-1201(a)(1) (2025 Act No. 26 (H.3472), eff. May 8, 2025)
The real-estate problem
What the text says: the route does NOT reach real property.
SECTION 62-3-1201. Collection of personal property by affidavit.
Source: S.C. Code § 62-3-1201(a)(1) (2025 Act No. 26 (H.3472), eff. May 8, 2025)
What probate costs in South Carolina if it is required
South Carolina’s probate fees and attorney-compensation rules are their own topic, worked through in full on South Carolina probate cost.
If a trust fits your situation in South Carolina
In South Carolina a house in sole name does not pass by the small-estate route, so an estate that includes one is heading for probate whatever the number is; a funded revocable living trust is the instrument that avoids it, and LawDepot builds a state-specific one.
Build a living trust at LawDepot
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The order to work through it
List what South Carolina residents typically own and how each item is titled. Remove everything with a living named beneficiary, a surviving joint owner, or a trust already holding it. If what remains is $45,000 or less, collection of personal property by affidavit is the route to look at. If real property remains in sole name, plan on an administration for the real property regardless.
The general rule: when probate is required. Thresholds elsewhere: small estate limits by state. South Carolina’s own small-estate mechanics: South Carolina small estate affidavit.
Statutory text read at South Carolina’s own legislature or official code publisher. General information, not legal advice; fee statutes and thresholds change and a court retains the final say on what qualifies.
General information drawn from state statutes and official court materials, not legal advice. Whether probate is required is STATE law and differs in every state; thresholds, what the small-estate route reaches, and probate costs all change, and every figure here is sourced and dated. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice.