Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in South Carolina

In a Renunciation, Who gets the Property Under the Will?

Wow. What a great technical question.

You are asking a very specific South Carolina Law question; for the exact answer you must ask a SC atty or read the SC Probate Code. I do not have access to the SC Probate Code.

This answer is settled in Georgia law (and I suspect that the answer is exactly the same in SC). Under Georgia Code 53-1-20(f)(1), when a renunciation under the Will occurs the property passes as though the beneficiary (you referred to them as heirs) died before the will came into effect.

Assuming the Will is valid and has been probated and you indicated that one beneficary renounced his or her share, you first look to the terms of the Will itself. If it contains a clause that says that property, if renounced, goes to the Charleston Preservation Society, or the like, then that is where renounced property will go. If the Will is silent (and renounciation is not a big clause to include), then the property passes to the heirs of the beneficiary as though that named person in the Will is dead. Or, so that is what GA law says.

You must determine whether SC law is different.

Hope this helps.

Hugh Wood, Atlanta, GA