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South Carolina Intestate Succession: Who Inherits Without a Will
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South Carolina Intestate Succession: Who Inherits Without a Will

Who inherits under South Carolina intestate succession: a spouse takes half when children survive under S.C. Code 62-2-102; the rest passes to descendants.

By Settled Editorial

When a South Carolina resident dies without a valid will, the state's intestacy statute decides who inherits. This guide answers one question: who gets what. It maps the distribution rules in S.C. Code Title 62, Article 2, the Probate Code sections that control an estate with no will. The short version: a surviving spouse does not automatically take everything. If the deceased left children or other descendants, the spouse takes one-half and the descendants share the rest.

This is the distribution side of intestacy. For the process of opening the estate, qualifying as personal representative, and meeting the court deadlines, start with the South Carolina probate guide. That guide covers how to administer an estate; this one covers who inherits from it.

What Intestate Succession Covers

Dying without a will is called dying "intestate." When that happens, no will names the heirs, so South Carolina statute does. The rules are set in Title 62, Article 2, and they run in a fixed order of family classes.

Intestate succession reaches only probate property, meaning assets that pass through the estate. Assets with a named beneficiary, a payable-on-death tag, survivorship rights, or trust ownership pass outside intestacy and do not follow these rules. So a life insurance policy with a named beneficiary, or a joint account with right of survivorship, goes to that person no matter what the statute says about heirs. To see which assets skip probate, read how to avoid probate in South Carolina.

The Surviving Spouse Share

South Carolina sets the spouse's intestate share in S.C. Code 62-2-102. There are two cases, and the presence of descendants is what separates them:

  • No surviving descendants. The surviving spouse receives the entire intestate estate.
  • Surviving descendants. The surviving spouse receives one-half of the intestate estate, and the descendants share the other half.

"Descendants" here means the decedent's issue: children, and the children of a child who died before the decedent. This is the point that surprises most families. A common assumption is that everything goes to the spouse. In South Carolina, once there are children, the estate splits in half.

South Carolina is not a dower or curtesy state, so the spouse's protection comes from this statutory share rather than a separate lifetime interest in the real estate. A spouse who is left out of a will, or who would receive less than the statutory minimum, may also have a separate elective share and statutory allowances that apply on top of, or instead of, the intestate table. Those are covered in the surviving spouse rights guide.

The Order of Heirs When There Is No Spouse

If there is no surviving spouse, or for the part of the estate that does not pass to the spouse, S.C. Code 62-2-103 sends the estate down a fixed order of family classes. Each class inherits only if no one in the class before it survives:

  1. The decedent's descendants (children, then grandchildren of a deceased child, and so on), taking by representation.
  2. Parents, equally, if there are no descendants.
  3. Brothers and sisters and their descendants (the issue of the decedent's parents), by representation, if there are no descendants or parents.
  4. Grandparents and their descendants. Half of the estate goes to the paternal side and half to the maternal side; if one side has no takers, the whole estate goes to the other side.

The estate stops at the first class that has a living member. If the decedent left children, the parents and siblings inherit nothing under the table.

Distribution by Representation

When a share would have gone to someone who died before the decedent, South Carolina distributes it "by representation" under S.C. Code 62-2-106. The estate is divided into equal shares at the nearest generation that has a living member, one share for each living person and one for each deceased person of that degree who left descendants. A deceased person's share then passes down to their own descendants.

In plain terms: if all the heirs are the same distance from the decedent, they split equally. If they are at different distances, because one child died and left grandchildren, the grandchildren step into their parent's share rather than inheriting in their own right. Our South Carolina inheritance calculator models this for a specific family.

Half-Blood, Afterborn, and Survival Rules

A few statutory rules can change who counts as an heir:

  • Half-blood relatives inherit the same as whole-blood relatives under S.C. Code 62-2-107. A half-sibling is treated like a full sibling.
  • Afterborn heirs are covered by S.C. Code 62-2-108. A child of the decedent conceived before death but born within ten months after inherits as if born during the decedent's lifetime.
  • The 120-hour survival rule in S.C. Code 62-2-104 requires an heir to survive the decedent by at least 120 hours to inherit. Someone who dies in the same accident, or within five days, is treated as having predeceased.
  • A parent who abandoned the decedent can be barred. S.C. Code 62-2-114 can cut off a parent's intestate share if the parent failed to provide support for the decedent during the decedent's minority.

What Happens If No Heir Exists

If the statute runs all the way through and finds no taker, the estate does not simply disappear. Under S.C. Code 62-2-105, an intestate estate with no heir escheats to the state. In practice this is rare, because the order of heirs reaches out to grandparents and their descendants, so a taker is usually found. Escheat is the last resort when the family tree truly ends.

How the Pieces Fit Together

To apply the rules to a real estate:

  1. Separate probate property from nonprobate property. Beneficiary designations, survivorship accounts, and trust assets pass outside intestacy. Only what is left flows through the statute.
  2. Check for a surviving spouse and descendants. Spouse plus descendants means the spouse takes one-half; spouse alone means the spouse takes all; no spouse sends everything down the order of heirs.
  3. Work down the classes until you reach one with a living member, and divide that class's share by representation.
  4. Apply the survival, half-blood, and afterborn rules to confirm exactly who qualifies.

Because a surviving spouse only gets half once children are involved, intestacy in South Carolina often produces a result the family did not expect, especially in blended families. A short will avoids the whole table.

When to Get Help

Intestacy math gets harder when:

  • the family includes children from more than one relationship
  • an heir died before the decedent and left descendants of their own
  • a possible heir cannot be located or the family tree is unclear
  • real estate must be sold to divide the estate or pay debts

This guide helps you organize the source-backed shares and the right questions to ask. A lawyer can advise on rights, disputes, and signing decisions for a specific estate. You can also start with your local South Carolina probate court for filing questions.

This guide is general information about South Carolina estates. It is not legal advice. Confirm anything that affects your situation with the county Probate Court or a licensed South Carolina attorney.

To see how these rules divide a specific estate, use the South Carolina inheritance calculator and model who inherits what when there is no will.

Sources

Information current as of July 14, 2026

Settled Estate is not a law firm, and this content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in South Carolina can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.

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