Current Status Introducing Body:Senate Bill Number:886 Ratification Number:529 Act Number:470 Primary Sponsor:McConnell Type of Legislation:GB Subject:Bond may be waived on estates, when Date Bill Passed both Bodies:19940602 Computer Document Number:JIC/5033SD.94 Governor's Action:S Date of Governor's Action:19940714 Introduced Date:19940111 Date of Last Amendment:19940602 Last History Body:------ Last History Date:19940714 Last History Type:Act No. 470 Scope of Legislation:Statewide All Sponsors:McConnell Wilson Reese Type of Legislation:General Bill
Bill Body Date Action Description CMN Leg Involved
---- ------ ------------ ------------------------------ --- ------------
886 ------ 19940714 Act No. 470
886 ------ 19940714 Signed by Governor
886 ------ 19940602 Ratified R 529
886 House 19940602 Concurred in Senate
amendment, enrolled for
ratification
886 Senate 19940602 House amendments amended,
returned to House
886 House 19940602 Read third time, returned to
Senate with amendment
886 House 19940601 Amended, read second time
886 House 19940519 Committee Report: Favorable 25
with amendment
886 House 19940223 Introduced, read first time, 25
referred to Committee
886 Senate 19940222 Read third time, sent to House
886 Senate 19940217 Amended, read second time
886 Senate 19940216 Committee Report: Favorable 11
with amendment
886 Senate 19940111 Introduced, read first time, 11
referred to Committee
886 Senate 19931108 Prefiled, referred to 11
Committee
View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.
(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.