October 15, 2009
South Carolina is one of about 38 states plus the District of Columbia that allow for trusts to be established for the benefit of animals and pets. While such trusts had not been recognized under the state common law because there were no human beneficiaries to enforce their terms, the South Carolina Trust Code now makes such trusts valid. (Click here for more…)
August 11, 2009
If you interact with an estate attorney, you may hear the term “heirs.” You may think you know what this term means, but it actually has a precise legal definition. In South Carolina, the term heirs is defined in South Carolina Code of Laws 62-1-201(17). The statutory definition is “those persons, including the surviving spouse, who are entitled under the statute of intestate succession to the property of a decedent.” The statute of intestate succession is found in South Carolina Code of Laws 62-2-102 and 62-2-103. Intestate succession is where you turn to determine the persons entitled to inherit from a Decedent when there is no Last Will and Testament.
The South Carolina intestacy statute sets forth the heirs as follows: (Click here for more…)
