September 2026
Every rule below carries a section number from Article 7 of Title 62 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, the South Carolina Trust Code, or from the perpetuities statute in Title 27, read from the South Carolina Legislature's official site on September 5, 2026. South Carolina follows the uniform pattern closely and departs from it in three places that matter — the contest window, the spendthrift exceptions, and a 360-year perpetuities period. This guide states each rule from the statute.
What South Carolina trust law is
South Carolina's trust statute is the South Carolina Trust Code, S.C. Code Title 62, Article 7, enacted as the state's version of the Uniform Trust Code and effective January 1, 2006. It sits inside the South Carolina Probate Code, so the same title governs wills, estates, and trusts, and the probate court hears trust matters. Because it is a uniform-code state, national articles describe South Carolina accurately on the basics; the departures are listed at the end of this guide.
The legal requirements for creating a valid trust in South Carolina
Section 62-7-401 provides the methods: a transfer of property to another person as trustee during life or at death, a declaration by the owner that the owner holds identifiable property as trustee, or the exercise of a power of appointment in favor of a trustee. Section 62-7-402(a) then provides that a trust is created only if the settlor has capacity and indicates an intention to create the trust, the trust has a definite beneficiary (or is charitable, for the care of an animal under section 62-7-408, or for a noncharitable purpose under section 62-7-409), the trustee has duties to perform, and the same person is not the sole trustee and sole current and future beneficiary. If the agreement is in writing, it may be signed by the settlor or in the settlor's name by another person in the settlor's presence and at the settlor's direction (section 62-7-402(b)). Under section 62-7-407, "except as otherwise required by statute, a trust need not be evidenced by a trust instrument," but an oral trust and its terms "may be established only by clear and convincing evidence"; a trust of real property must satisfy the statute of frauds. Notarization and witnesses are not validity requirements for a South Carolina trust instrument; they are practice, adopted so the instrument can be recorded and relied on.
Revocable by default
Under section 62-7-602(a), "unless the terms of a trust expressly provide that the trust is irrevocable, the settlor may revoke or amend the trust"; the rule does not apply to instruments executed before the article's effective date. Where more than one settlor funded the trust, each may revoke or amend as to the portion attributable to that settlor's contribution, and community property may be revoked by either spouse but amended only jointly (section 62-7-602(b)). Revocation or amendment is by substantial compliance with a method in the trust's terms or, if the terms do not make that method exclusive, by the other methods the section lists (section 62-7-602(c)).
Contesting a South Carolina trust
Section 62-7-604(a) requires a person to commence a judicial proceeding to contest the validity of a trust that was revocable at the settlor's death within the earlier of one year after the settlor's death or 120 days after the trustee sent the person a copy of the trust instrument and a notice of the trust's existence, the trustee's name and address, and the time allowed for commencing a proceeding. The uniform text says three years; South Carolina says one. The 120-day window starts only when the trustee actually sends both the instrument and the notice. After the settlor's death the trustee may distribute and is not liable for doing so unless the trustee knows of a pending contest or a potential contestant has given notice and commences a proceeding within 120 days of that notice (section 62-7-604(b)); a beneficiary of a trust later held invalid must return what was received (section 62-7-604(c)).
The trustee's duties in South Carolina
Article 8 of the code collects the duties. The trustee must administer the trust in good faith according to its terms and purposes and the interests of the beneficiaries (section 62-7-801); owes undivided loyalty (section 62-7-802); must act impartially among beneficiaries (section 62-7-803); and must administer as a prudent person would, exercising reasonable care, skill, and caution (section 62-7-804). The duty to inform and report (section 62-7-813) is owed exclusively to the settlor while the trust is revocable. Once the trust is irrevocable, the trustee must, within 90 days of accepting the trusteeship or of the trust becoming irrevocable, notify the qualified beneficiaries of the trust's existence, the settlors' identity, the trustee's name, address, and telephone number, and the right to request a copy of the instrument and of the trustee's reports (section 62-7-813(b)); and must thereafter keep the distributees and permissible distributees reasonably informed and send, annually and on termination, a written report of the trust property sufficient to protect their interests (section 62-7-813(c)). Investments follow South Carolina's Uniform Prudent Investor Act (section 62-7-933). An exculpation clause cannot relieve a trustee of liability for breach committed in bad faith or with reckless indifference to the purposes of the trust or the interests of the beneficiaries (section 62-7-1008).
Appointing, removing, and replacing a trustee
Sections 62-7-701 through 62-7-706 govern acceptance, bond, cotrustees, vacancies, resignation, and removal. A trustee may resign on notice to the qualified beneficiaries, the settlor if living, and cotrustees, or with court approval (section 62-7-705). Removal is under section 62-7-706 on petition by the settlor, a cotrustee, or a beneficiary, or on the court's own initiative, for serious breach, lack of cooperation among cotrustees, unfitness or persistent failure to administer effectively, or a substantial change of circumstances where removal serves the beneficiaries' interests.
What rights beneficiaries have in a South Carolina trust
Qualified beneficiaries are entitled to the notices and annual reports under section 62-7-813, to a copy of the instrument on request, and to petition the probate court for an accounting, instructions, or removal. A beneficiary may sue for breach of trust; remedies (section 62-7-1001) include compelling performance, enjoining a breach, compelling redress by money or restoration of property, appointing a special fiduciary, suspending or removing the trustee, reducing or denying compensation, and voiding an act of the trustee.
Spendthrift protection and its exceptions
A spendthrift provision is valid under section 62-7-502. South Carolina's exception list is narrower than the uniform code's: under section 62-7-503, a beneficiary's child holding a judgment or order for support may obtain an order attaching present or future distributions, and that exception is itself unenforceable against a special needs or supplemental needs trust where it would jeopardize public benefits. The uniform exceptions for a spouse or former spouse, for creditors who protected the beneficiary's interest, and for governmental claims are not in the South Carolina text. Section 62-7-505 governs a settlor's own creditors: during the settlor's lifetime the property of a revocable trust is subject to the settlor's creditors; as to an irrevocable trust, a creditor may reach the maximum amount that can be distributed to or for the settlor's benefit, except that a trustee's discretion to pay the settlor's income taxes is not counted; and after death the revocable trust's property answers for claims, administration expenses, and family allowances to the extent the probate estate is inadequate.
How long a South Carolina trust can last
South Carolina's rule against perpetuities is section 27-6-20. A nonvested property interest is invalid unless, when created, it is certain to vest or terminate no later than 21 years after the death of an individual then alive, or it actually vests or terminates within 360 years after its creation. The same 360-year period governs powers of appointment. South Carolina therefore permits a very long-term trust — the same period as Georgia — though not Florida's 1,000 years.
Certification of trust
Under section 62-7-1013 a trustee may furnish to a person other than a beneficiary a certification of trust in place of the instrument, stating that the trust exists and the date it was executed, the settlor's identity, the identity and address of the acting trustee, the trustee's powers (which may be stated by reference to the code), the revocability of the trust and who holds a power to revoke, the signature authority of cotrustees, and the manner of taking title. It may be signed or otherwise authenticated by any trustee, must state that the trust has not been revoked, modified, or amended in any manner that would make it incorrect, and need not contain the dispositive terms. A recipient may require excerpts that designate the trustee and confer the relevant power.
What assets should not be placed in a South Carolina trust, and taxes
The code publishes no list of excluded assets. Retirement accounts pass by beneficiary designation; vehicles and small accounts are commonly left out; a South Carolina homestead keeps its property-tax classification in a revocable trust so long as the county's requirements are met, which is a question to confirm before funding. South Carolina imposes no state estate tax and no inheritance tax; the only transfer tax that can reach a South Carolina trust is the federal estate tax on estates above the federal exemption. The "7-year rule" in many search results is a United Kingdom inheritance-tax concept and is not South Carolina law.
Types of trusts used in South Carolina estate plans
A revocable living trust is the working instrument of most South Carolina estate plans; the trust document names a successor trustee, and the trust's assets pass at death without probate court administration. Irrevocable trusts trade the power to revoke for creditor or tax positioning, subject to section 62-7-505. Testamentary trusts are created by will. Special needs trusts preserve public benefits. Animal-care and purpose trusts are recognized. Whatever the type, sections 62-7-401 and 62-7-402 apply to all of them.
Trust administration after a death
The successor trustee accepts under section 62-7-701, sends the section 62-7-813 notices within 90 days and, to start the 120-day contest window, the instrument with the section 62-7-604 notice, marshals the assets, keeps beneficiaries informed, and distributes according to the terms of the trust. Administration is private unless a party petitions the probate court.
Frequently asked questions
Does a South Carolina trust need to be notarized or witnessed? Not for validity; real property transfers must meet recording requirements.
Is an oral trust valid? Of personal property, only on clear and convincing evidence (section 62-7-407); never of real property without a writing.
How long do I have to contest a South Carolina trust? One year from the settlor's death, or 120 days from receiving the instrument and notice, whichever comes first (section 62-7-604).
Can a trustee be held personally liable? Yes, for breach of trust; exculpation cannot excuse bad faith or reckless indifference (section 62-7-1008).
Where South Carolina departs from the Uniform Trust Code
- The trust code sits inside the Probate Code and uses Title 62 numbering; the probate court, not a general trial court, hears trust matters.
- The post-death contest window is one year or 120 days after notice, whichever is earlier (section 62-7-604); the uniform text says three years.
- Spendthrift exceptions are limited to a child's support order (section 62-7-503); the uniform code's spouse, services-creditor, and governmental exceptions are absent.
- The perpetuities period is 360 years (section 27-6-20), not the uniform 90.
- The trustee's initial notice runs 90 days from acceptance or irrevocability (section 62-7-813), not the uniform 60.
Other states in this series
- California trust law, verified
- Florida trust law, verified
- Georgia trust law, verified
- New York trust law, verified
- Texas trust law, verified
Verified sources
All sections were read from scstatehouse.gov, the South Carolina Legislature's official publication of the Code of Laws (Title 62, Chapter 7, and Title 27, Chapter 6), on September 5, 2026. Each carries its own history line on that publication; the Trust Code sections were enacted by 2005 Act No. 66 and amended by 2013 Act No. 100, effective January 1, 2014, with section 62-7-604 also amended by 2010 Act No. 244 and section 62-7-505 carrying its January 1, 2025 applicability language. Readers who need the verbatim text with source line for any section can request the Trust Statute Service research package for South Carolina.
This guide states the statute. It is not legal advice for any particular trust, and it does not replace counsel where a dispute, a tax question, or an unusual asset is involved.