Title 62, South Carolina Probate Code

(a) Whenever notice to qualified beneficiaries of a trust is required under this article, the trustee must also give notice to any other beneficiary who has sent the trustee a request for notice. (b) A charitable organization expressly designated to receive distributions under th…

In applying and construing this article, consideration must be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact its provisions.

The provisions of this article governing the legal effect, validity, or enforceability of electronic records or electronic signatures, and of contracts formed or performed with the use of such records or signatures, conform to the requirements of Section 102 of the Electronic Sig…

If any provision of this article or its application to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this article which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisio…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this article, on the effective date of this article: (1) this article applies to all trusts created before, on, or after its effective date; (2) this article applies to all judicial proceedings concerning trusts commenced on or after its effect…

(a) For purposes of this section, "interested persons" means persons whose consent would be required in order to achieve a binding settlement were the settlement to be approved by the court. (b) Interested persons may enter into a binding nonjudicial settlement agreement with res…

The rules of construction that apply in this State to the interpretation of and disposition of property by will also apply as appropriate to the interpretation of the terms of a trust and the disposition of the trust property.

(a) Subject to the provisions of Section 62-1-302(d), the probate court has exclusive jurisdiction of proceedings initiated by interested parties concerning the internal affairs of trusts. These proceedings must be formal as defined by Section 62-1-201(17) but consent petitions a…

(a) By accepting the trusteeship of a trust having its principal place of administration in this State or by moving the principal place of administration to this State, the trustee submits personally to the jurisdiction of the courts of this State regarding any matter involving t…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b), venue for a judicial proceeding involving a trust is in the county of this State in which the trust's principal place of administration is or will be located and, if the trust is created by will and the estate is not yet closed,…

(a) For purposes of this part, "beneficiary representative" refers to a person who may represent and bind another person concerning the affairs of trusts. (b) Notice to a beneficiary representative has the same effect as if notice were given directly to the represented person. No…

To the extent there is no conflict of interest between the holder of a presently exercisable general power of appointment and the persons represented with respect to the particular question or dispute, the holder may represent and bind persons whose interests, as permissible appo…

(a) To the extent there is no conflict of interest between the following beneficiary representatives and the person represented or among those being represented with respect to a particular question or dispute: (1) a conservator may represent and bind the estate that the conserva…

Unless otherwise represented, a minor, incapacitated, or unborn individual, or a person whose identity or location is unknown and not reasonably ascertainable, may be represented by and bound by another having a substantially identical interest with respect to the particular ques…

At any point in a judicial proceeding, a court may appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the interest of a minor, an incapacitated, unborn, or unascertained person, or a person whose identity or address is unknown, if the court determines that representation of the interest ot…

(a)(1) A trust described in Section 62-7-102 may be created by: (i) transfer of property to another person as trustee during the settlor's lifetime or by will or other disposition taking effect upon the settlor's death; (ii) written declaration signed by the owner of property tha…

(a) A trust is created only if: (1) the settlor has capacity to create a trust; (2) the settlor indicates an intention to create the trust; (3) the trust has a definite beneficiary or is: (A) a charitable trust; (B) a trust for the care of an animal, as provided in Section 62-7-4…

A trust not created by will is validly created if its creation complies with the law of the jurisdiction in which the trust instrument was executed, or the law of the jurisdiction in which, at the time of creation: (1) the settlor was domiciled, had a place of abode, or was a nat…

A trust may be created only to the extent its purposes are lawful, not contrary to public policy, and possible to achieve. A trust and its terms must be for the benefit of its beneficiaries.

(a) A charitable trust may be created for the relief of distress or poverty, the advancement of education or religion, the promotion of health, scientific, literary, benevolent, governmental or municipal purposes, or other purposes, the achievement of which purposes is beneficial…

A trust is voidable to the extent its creation was induced by fraud, duress, or undue influence.

Except as otherwise required by statute, a trust need not be evidenced by a trust instrument. The creation of an oral trust and its terms may be established only by clear and convincing evidence.

(a) A trust may be created to provide for the care of an animal or animals alive or in gestation during the settlor's lifetime, whether or not alive at the time the trust is created. The trust terminates upon the death of the last surviving animal. (b) A trust authorized by this …

Except as otherwise provided in this section or by another statute, the following rules apply: (1) A trust may be created for a noncharitable purpose without a definite or definitely ascertainable beneficiary or for a noncharitable but otherwise valid purpose to be selected by th…

(a) In addition to the methods of termination prescribed by Sections 62-7-411 through 62-7-414, a trust terminates to the extent the trust is revoked or expires pursuant to its terms. (b) A proceeding to approve or disapprove a proposed modification or termination under Sections …

(a) A noncharitable irrevocable trust may be modified or terminated with court approval upon consent of the settlor and all beneficiaries, even if the modification or termination is inconsistent with a material purpose of the trust. A settlor's power to consent to a trust's modif…

(a) The court may modify the administrative or dispositive terms of a trust or terminate the trust if, because of circumstances not anticipated by the settlor, modification or termination will further the purposes of the trust. To the extent practicable, the modification must be …

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b), if a particular charitable purpose becomes unlawful, impracticable, impossible to achieve, or wasteful: (1) the trust does not fail, in whole or in part; (2) the trust property does not revert to the settlor or the settlor's suc…

(a) After notice to the qualified beneficiaries, and without court approval, the trustee of a trust consisting of trust property having a total value less than one hundred thousand dollars may terminate the trust if the trustee concludes that the value of the trust property is in…

The court may reform the terms of a trust, even if unambiguous, to conform the terms to the settlor's intention if it is proved by clear and convincing evidence what the settlor's intention was and that the terms of the trust were affected by a mistake of fact or law, whether in …

To achieve the settlor's tax objectives, the court may modify the terms of a trust in a manner that is not contrary to the settlor's probable intention. The court may provide that the modification has retroactive effect.

After notice to the qualified beneficiaries, a trustee may combine two or more trusts into a single trust or divide a trust into two or more separate trusts, if the result does not impair rights of any beneficiary or adversely affect achievement of the purposes of the trust.

(a) When any person shall be seized of any lands, tenements, rents, reversions, remainders, or other hereditaments to the use, confidence, or trust of any other person or of any body politic by reason of any bargain, sale, feoffment, covenant, contract, agreement, will, or otherw…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), the court may authorize a creditor or assignee of the beneficiary to reach the beneficiary's interest by attachment of present or future distributions to or for the benefit of the beneficiary or other means. The court may limit the award …

(a) A spendthrift provision is valid only if it restrains both voluntary and involuntary transfer of a beneficiary's interest. (b) A term of a trust providing that the interest of a beneficiary is held subject to a "spendthrift trust", or words of similar import, is sufficient to…

(a) In this section, "child" includes any person for whom an order or judgment for child support has been entered in this or another State. (b) Even if a trust contains a spendthrift provision, a beneficiary's child who has a judgment or court order against the beneficiary for su…

(a) In this section, "child" includes any person for whom an order or judgment for child support has been entered in this or another state. (b) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c), a creditor of a beneficiary may not compel a distribution from a trust in which the bene…

(a) Whether or not the terms of a trust contain a spendthrift provision, the following rules apply: (1) During the lifetime of the settlor, the property of a revocable trust is subject to claims of the settlor's creditors. (2) With respect to an irrevocable trust, whether created…

Whether or not a trust contains a spendthrift provision, a creditor or assignee of a beneficiary may reach a mandatory distribution of income or principal, including a distribution upon termination of the trust, if the trustee has not made the distribution to the beneficiary with…

Trust property is not subject to personal obligations of the trustee, even if the trustee becomes insolvent or bankrupt.

(A)(1) Except as otherwise provided under the terms of a trust, if all or any portion of the trust is treated as being owned by a person under Section 671 of the Internal Revenue Code or any similar federal, state, or other tax law, the trustee of such trust may, in the trustee's…

The capacity required to create, amend, revoke, or add property to a revocable trust, or to direct the actions of the trustee of a revocable trust, is the same as that required to make a will.

(a) Unless the terms of a trust expressly provide that the trust is irrevocable, the settlor may revoke or amend the trust. This subsection does not apply to a trust created under an instrument executed before the effective date of this article. (b) If a revocable trust is create…

(a) An agent acting pursuant to a power of attorney may exercise the following powers of the settlor with respect to a revocable trust only to the extent expressly authorized by the terms of the trust or the power of attorney: (1) revocation of the trust; (2) amendment of the tru…

While a trust is revocable, rights of the beneficiaries are subject to the control of, and the duties of the trustee are owed exclusively to, the settlor.

(a) A person must commence a judicial proceeding to contest the validity of a trust that was revocable at the settlor's death within the earlier of: (1) one year after the settlor's death; or (2) one hundred twenty days after the trustee sent the person a copy of the trust instru…