S*886 Session 110 (1993-1994)
S*0886(Rat #0529, Act #0470) General Bill, By McConnell, Reese and Wilson
A Bill to amend Section 62-3-603, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976,
relating to the requirement of bond of the personal representative or
administrator of an estate under twenty thousand dollars under certain
conditions; to amend Section 15-51-40 of the 1976 Code, relating to damages in
wrongful death actions, so as to provide that in the event of the wrongful
death of a minor, the probate court may limit or deny either parent's
entitlement for a share of the proceeds under certain conditions; to amend
Section 8-21-770, as amended, relating to certain probate court fees and
costs, so as to revise these fees and costs; to amend Section 8-21-790, as
amended, relating to fees for settlement of the estates, so as to delete
language authorizing the Tax Commission to retain certain of these fees; to
amend Section 20-1-230, relating to the issuance of marriage licenses, so as
to revise a reference to the fee for marriage licenses; and to repeal Section
8-21-780 relating to fees of the probate court for providing copies of certain
statements and Section 15-37-70 relating to costs and expenses of
administration and settlement of small estates.-amended title
11/08/93 Senate Prefiled
11/08/93 Senate Referred to Committee on Judiciary
01/11/94 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-29
01/11/94 Senate Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-29
02/16/94 Senate Committee report: Favorable with amendment
Judiciary SJ-8
02/17/94 Senate Amended SJ-44
02/17/94 Senate Read second time SJ-44
02/22/94 Senate Read third time and sent to House SJ-17
02/23/94 House Introduced and read first time HJ-17
02/23/94 House Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-17
05/19/94 House Committee report: Favorable with amendment
Judiciary HJ-8
06/01/94 House Amended HJ-315
06/01/94 House Read second time HJ-316
06/02/94 House Read third time and returned to Senate with
amendments HJ-21
06/02/94 Senate House amendment amended SJ-50
06/02/94 Senate Returned to House with amendments SJ-50
06/02/94 House Concurred in Senate amendment and enrolled HJ-103
06/02/94 Ratified R 529
07/14/94 Signed By Governor
07/14/94 Effective date 07/14/94
07/14/94 See act for exception to or explanation of
effective date
07/28/94 Copies available
(A470, R529, S886)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 62-3-603, CODE OF LAWS OF
SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE REQUIREMENT OF
BOND OF THE PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OR
ADMINISTRATOR OF AN ESTATE UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS,
SO AS TO PERMIT A BOND TO BE WAIVED ON ESTATES UNDER
TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS;
TO AMEND SECTION 15-51-40 OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO
DAMAGES IN WRONGFUL DEATH ACTIONS, SO AS TO PROVIDE
THAT IN THE EVENT OF THE WRONGFUL DEATH OF A MINOR,
THE PROBATE COURT MAY LIMIT OR DENY EITHER PARENT'S
ENTITLEMENT FOR A SHARE OF THE PROCEEDS UNDER
CERTAIN CONDITIONS; TO AMEND SECTION 8-21-770, AS
AMENDED, RELATING TO CERTAIN PROBATE COURT FEES AND
COSTS, SO AS TO REVISE THESE FEES AND COSTS; TO AMEND
SECTION 8-21-790, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO FEES FOR
SETTLEMENT OF ESTATES, SO AS TO DELETE LANGUAGE
AUTHORIZING THE TAX COMMISSION TO RETAIN CERTAIN OF
THESE FEES; TO AMEND SECTION 20-1-230, RELATING TO THE
ISSUANCE OF MARRIAGE LICENSES, SO AS TO REVISE A
REFERENCE TO THE FEE FOR MARRIAGE LICENSES; AND TO
REPEAL SECTION 8-21-780, RELATING TO FEES OF THE PROBATE
COURT FOR PROVIDING COPIES OF CERTAIN STATEMENTS AND
SECTION 15-37-70, RELATING TO COSTS AND EXPENSES OF
ADMINISTRATION AND SETTLEMENT OF SMALL ESTATES.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Bond waived
SECTION 1. Section 62-3-603 of the 1976 Code is amended to
read:
"Section 62-3-603. (A) Except as otherwise provided in this
section, no bond is required of a personal representative or successor
personal representative who is named in a will or when there is only a
single beneficiary named in a will who is also appointed as the personal
representative. Bond is required in the following cases:
(1) upon the appointment of a special administrator;
(2) upon the appointment of a personal representative of an intestate
estate unless the court has determined at the time of appointment that there
is only a single qualified surviving heir pursuant to the provisions of this
Probate Code governing intestacy and that the heir is appointed as the
personal representative;
(3) upon appointment of a nonresident personal representative unless
bond is expressly excused in the will;
(4) when a personal representative is appointed to administer an estate
under a will containing an express requirement of bond; or
(5) when bond is required under Section 62-3-605;
(6) upon appointment of a personal representative not named in a will,
unless otherwise provided in the will or in this section or unless the
personal representative is the sole beneficiary named in the will.
No bond is required of a banking corporation or trust company qualified
under Section 34-15-10 when it is appointed to act as a personal
representative except under item (4). If, pursuant to Section 62-3-203(a),
the court appoints as personal representative a nominee of a personal
representative named in a will, or if bond is required under item (6) of this
section, the court may in its discretion decide not to require bond.
(B) Where a bond is required of the personal representative or
administrator of an estate by law or by the will, it may be waived under the
following conditions:
(1) the personal representative or administrator by affidavit at the time
of applying for appointment as such certifies to the court that the gross
value of the estate will be less than twenty thousand dollars, that the assets
of the probate estate are sufficient to pay all claims against the estate, and
that the personal representative or administrator agrees to be personally
liable to any beneficiary or other person having an interest in the estate for
any negligence or intentional misconduct in the performance of his duties
as personal representative or administrator; and
(2) all known beneficiaries and other persons having an interest in the
estate execute a written statement on a form prescribed by the court that
they agree to the bond being waived. This form must be filed with the
court simultaneously with the affidavit required by item (1) above. A
creditor for purposes of this item (2) is not considered a person having an
interest in the estate.
The provisions of this subsection (B) are supplemental and in addition to
any other provisions of law permitting the waiving or reducing of a bond.
Any bond required by Section 62-3-605 may not be waived under the
provisions of this section."
Limitation on share of proceeds
SECTION 2. Section 15-51-40 of the 1976 Code is amended to
read:
"Section 15-51-40. In every such action the jury may give
damages, including exemplary damages when the wrongful act, neglect, or
default was the result of recklessness, wilfulness, or malice, as they may
think proportioned to the injury resulting from the death to the parties
respectively for whom and for whose benefit such action shall be brought.
The amount so recovered shall be divided among the before-mentioned
parties in those shares as they would have been entitled to if the deceased
had died intestate and the amount recovered had been personal assets of his
or her estate. However, in the event of a wrongful death of a minor, upon
motion by either parent, the probate court may deny or limit either parent's
entitlement for a share of the proceeds if the court determines, by a
preponderance of the evidence, that the parent has refused to reasonably
support the decedent as defined in Section 20-7-40 and has otherwise not
provided for the needs of the decedent."
Fees and costs revised
SECTION 3. Section 8-21-770 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 8-21-770. (A) Fees and costs are payable upon the filing
of an application or petition. Payment may, in the discretion of the probate
judge, be deferred for a period no greater than the time provided by law for
filing the inventory and appraisement. Any adjustment of fees and costs
collected at the opening of the estate must be effected before or at the time
of final settlement.
(B) In estate and conservatorship proceedings, the fee shall be based
upon the gross value as shown on the inventory and appraisement as
follows:
(1) Property valuation less than $5,000.00$ 25.00
(2) Property valuation of $5,000.00
but less than $20,000.00 $ 45.00
(3) Property valuation of $20,000.00
but less than $60,000.00 $ 67.50
(4) Property valuation of $60,000.00
but less than $100,000.00 $ 95.00
(5) Property valuation of $100,000.00
but less than $600,000.00 $ 95.00
plus .15 percent of the property valuation between $100,000.00 and
$600,000.00
(6) Property valuation of $600,000.00 or higher amount set forth in
(5) above plus 1/4 of one percent of the property valuation above
$600,000.00.
(C) Other fees of the Probate Court are as follows:
(1) Issuing certified copy $ 5.00
(2) Issuing exemplified/authenticated copy$ 20.00
(3) Reforming or correcting marriage record$ 6.75
(4) Filing demands for notice $ 5.00
(5) Filing conservatorship accountings$ 10.00
(6) Recording authenticated or certified record$ 20.00
(7) Reopening closed estates $ 22.50
(8) Appointment of special or temporary fiduciary$ 22.50
(9) Filing and indexing will under Section 62-2-901$ 10.00
(10) Certifying appeal record $ 10.00
(11) Filing the initial petition in any action or proceeding other than
(B) above, same fee as charged for filing civil actions in circuit court
(12) Filing affidavit for collection of personal property under
Section
62-3-1201, the fee pursuant to item (B) above based upon property
valuation shown, provided that where the property valuation is less than
$100.00, the fee shall be one-half the amount otherwise provided.
(D) The costs of the notice to creditors or other legal advertisement are
in addition to prescribed court costs and are due and payable prior to
publication of advertisement."
Retainage of fees
SECTION 4. Section 8-21-790 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 8-21-790. The office of the Probate Court must also be
paid fees according to the following schedule for each estate settled:
On the first $100.00 of tax collected 5%
Above $100.00 and up to $1,000.00 2%
Above $1,000.00 and up to $10,000.001 1/2%
Above $10,000.00 and up to $50,000.00 1%
Above $50,000.00 and up to $100,000.003/4 of 1%
Above $100,000.00 and up to $300,000.001/2 of 1%
Above $300,000.00 1/4 of 1%
If the Probate Judge shall fail or neglect to perform any duty required
under Chapter 15 of Title 12, the Department of Revenue and Taxation may
withhold any or all of the fees provided for in the foregoing schedule and
upon the order the Department of Revenue and Taxation shall turn such
fees into the general fund of the State Treasury. All fees allowed under this
schedule must be paid out of the taxes collected by the Department of
Revenue and Taxation immediately upon receipt thereof and the receipt of
the County Treasurer is sufficient voucher to the commission for paying
same."
Fee reference revised
SECTION 5. Section 20-1-230 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 20-1-230. Upon (a) the filing of the application required
under the provisions of Section 20-1-220, (b) the lapse of at least
twenty-four hours thereafter, (c) the payment of the fee provided by law,
and (d) the filing of a statement, under oath or affirmation, to the effect that
the persons seeking the contract of matrimony are legally entitled to marry,
together with the full names of the persons, their ages and places of
residence, the judge of probate or clerk of court with whom the application
was filed shall issue a license for the marriage of such persons."
Repeal
SECTION 6. Sections 8-21-780 and 15-37-70 of the 1976 Code are
repealed.
Delay of effective date
SECTION 7. The amendments to Sections 8-21-770, 8-21-790, and
20-1-230 of the 1976 Code as contained herein and the repeal of Sections
8-21-780 and 15-37-70 of the 1976 Code as contained herein take effect
thirty days after this act is approved by the Governor.
Time effective
SECTION 8. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
Approved the 14th day of July, 1994.
* R.529, S.886 as ratified contained a clerical error in subsection (A) of
Section 62-3-603 in that an outdated version thereof was included by
accident due to a mistake. This has been corrected under the authority of
the Code Commissioner in Section 2-13-60(10) of the Code. Please contact
the South Carolina Code Commissioner for further information.
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