The process of probate seems to be a misunderstood concept. Unfortunately, most people do not start learning about probate real estate in South Carolina until after there has been a death in the family.
What is Probate Real Estate?
Basically, probate is the process of determining who has the rights to inherit assets. This is a court supervised event and there is a series of events that must be followed in order to do this correctly.
Typically, the Will should make reference to the person responsible for executing the Will. The individual appointed for this is called an "Executor". It is the Executor that will likely be the personal representative of the deceased person. Their main responsibility is to manage the assets, to make sure all obligations and debts are settled, and to make sure that the heirs or other beneficiaries of the deceased get everything they are supposed to receive.
If the deceased person did not have a Will, the probate court will appoint someone to be the executor. This is normally a spouse, adult child or close family member of the deceased.
There are two types of probate sales. Court-Confirmed Probate sales are time-consuming and more complicated. This type of sale requires court approval and a court appraisal. An independent Administration Probate sale does not require a court confirmation and is less complicated. The Executor needs to understand the difference and be familiar with the requirements of each.
Probate in South Carolina
One important function of the South Carolina Probate process is to prevent fraud or theft of one’s assets after that person has died. The probate process may take around 9 months which gives a judge plenty of time to make sure that everything is being distributed properly.
In most cases, South Carolina requires sellers to represent the electrical, plumbing, heating, sewer system, roof, and other fixtures as being in working order, to the best of their knowledge. The seller is also required to maintain the property until possession is taken by the beneficiary.
Please understand, we are real estate agents that help families sell their real estate holdings while going through the probate process. We focus on real estate probate in Horry County. We are not attorneys nor do we give legal advice and we always recommend speaking with an attorney that specializes in probate.
When we handle your probate sale, we can offer a full range of referral services for you, expediting the process and helping you through it all. Some of our referral services include:
Cleaning and removing Trash
Liquidation or Auction Services
Moving or Eviction Services if needed
Painters, plumbers, contractors, electricians
Home and Pest Inspectors
We will conduct an interior inspection of the property and complete a Broker Price Opinion Report (Appraisal) which documents the property's deferred maintenance that may affect value. This report, along with photos, is provided to the attorney to assist the probate referee in determining an accurate value for the property. this can save several weeks of adjusting a value when the property's condition is not accurate.
If you need to know which attorneys work in the Horry County Probate Court, then let us know and we will give you the names of a few options.
If you have property that is about to go through, or has already been through the SC Probate process, we have an agent that is experienced and is in the process of being certified as a Probate Real Estate Specialist: Kevin Mills works out of our Barefoot Resort office, but can handle a probate real estate sale anywhere in Horry County. He understands the complexities of probate sales, and is experienced in selling property in or out of probate. Please feel free to contact him for more information or a free market analysis to determine your property's value.
