Estate Law Surfside Beach SC | Indigo Family Law

Preparing to pass on your assets when you die can be uncomfortable to consider, but doing so can be a tremendous gift to your loved ones. When you work with a qualified estate planning attorney, you can create a customized plan for transferring valuable property and sentimental items to your heirs. You can also protect family wealth and ensure it benefits future generations.

At Indigo Family Law, we offer over 40 years of combined experience in estate law in Surfside Beach, SC. Whatever your age or financial situation, we can guide you through the planning process to draft wills, trusts, and other necessary documents. We work with families just like yours across Horry County and are ready to speak with you when you schedule a consultation.

Why Choose the Team at Indigo Family Law

When you are dealing with legal matters, you need someone to explain your choices in clear language. You also want a team that is professional, honest, and compassionate. At Indigo Family Law, our founding attorneys, Brana Williams and Ryan Stampfle, are dedicated to meeting your needs through our commitment to top-quality service.

Here is why you should choose our law firm:

We don’t leave you wondering what is happening, and always call you back.
We have families and have faced many of the same situations as our clients.
We tell you what to expect and keep you updated if things change.
We don’t shy away from telling you the truth, but we also work hard to create the right solution for your circumstances.
We also help you adjust your estate plan as you experience changes throughout your life.

Whether you have a little or a lot to leave behind in your estate, we can build a specific plan that gives you peace of mind and provides for your family.

South Carolina Estate Laws

Under South Carolina Code of Law § 62-2-202, a decedent’s estate includes all “property passing under the decedent’s will plus the decedent’s property passing by intestacy,” minus any expenses for the funeral and enforceable claims against the estate. Essentially, anything you own and leave behind becomes part of your estate, including property, vehicles, money, and debts. Your estate plan describes how you want to distribute these items to your heirs.

If you die without a will, you are considered intestate, and SC intestacy laws apply to your property. Generally, your spouse will receive all of your assets if you do not have children. If you do have children, the spouse receives half and the children split the other half. This may not correspond with your wishes, which is why it is important to create a will as part of an estate plan.

Your will can supersede intestacy laws in nearly all cases, coupled with any trusts, powers of attorney, and other documents in your plan. A plan is especially useful if you have children from a previous relationship or other complicated family arrangements. By discussing these considerations with your estate planning attorney, you can clearly establish your wishes for your survivors to follow when you are gone.

There Is More to Estate Law Than a Last Will and Testament

Most people are familiar with the idea of a last will, even if only through seeing it as part of a movie or TV show. The reality can be very different, since you must meet specific legal criteria for your will to be enforceable. Even then, family members may decide to contest your will if they feel they didn’t receive their share.

Estate planning is meant to minimize these issues and make your wishes known without confusion. You can use a variety of instruments and tools to distribute your assets, including:

Powers of Attorney: You can designate someone to make decisions for you regarding your healthcare and finances, or a different person for each category, if you are incapacitated. These can go into effect if you are in a coma and may or may not recover.
Living Wills or Advance Directives: These documents describe the type of life-saving medical care you want in case you are incapacitated or are not expected to recover. Examples include Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders.
Guardianship Directives: If you have minor children, you and your spouse or the other parent may wish to name a guardian in the event you both die.
Trusts: These separate legal entities take control of assets and funds after you die, with a trust administrator distributing property to your beneficiaries according to the trust’s terms.

Trusts are one of the most vital parts of your plan if you have children, since they can safely hold and manage property until the children are old enough to take ownership. If you have children with special needs, you can create a specific trust to provide funds for their lifelong care after you pass away. You can also start a trust that protects your property from certain tax obligations, so more of your legacy goes to your heirs.

Probate Court and What It Means for Your Estate

When a person dies, the state and county in which they died take an interest in how the decedent’s property will transfer to others. In Horry County Probate Court, the estate’s personal representative (PR) must file the will within 30 days of the death and complete the probate process. This includes providing an inventory of all assets that fall under the probate court’s jurisdiction.

Attorneys Can Help You Navigate Probate

Many people believe that creating an estate plan insulates their assets from passing through probate court. However, if you leave anything out of your will, the PR must file it with the court, providing a complete inventory and value for each item. If you work with an estate planning lawyer in Surfside Beach, they can help you thoroughly review all your holdings and ensure nothing is left out.

Generally, it’s advisable to avoid probate whenever possible, although every situation is unique. One reason to avoid it is that your assets also become a matter of public record, risking privacy concerns about what you are leaving behind and who is receiving it. Also, a probated estate cannot close until at least one year after it is filed, meaning your heirs must wait to inherit.

What Happens If You Do Not Create an Estate Plan With a Lawyer’s Help

Without a solid estate plan prepared by a skilled attorney, you run the risk of complicating the estate process. You may overlook assets and leave them out of your will, forcing your relatives to go through probate court. You may also unknowingly set up disputes and arguments about who gets what unless you leave clear instructions.

If you have a small estate with less than $25,000 in assets, you have a slight advantage since it does not have to go through probate. Your PR can close your estate as soon as they complete the Small Estate Administration process. Yet, without an attorney’s guidance, you may mistakenly assume your estate will qualify when you may actually exceed the threshold, leaving your survivors with no direction about your wishes.

South Carolina Requirements for Creating an Estate Plan

Many people turn to websites to quickly generate a will and call it a day, thinking they have everything covered. Unfortunately, just completing a form and printing it out does not mean your will and estate documents will be legally binding.

South Carolina has key requirements that you must meet or your will could be dismissed, with everything going through intestacy laws instead. These are:

You must be at least 18 years old.
Your will must be in writing.
You must sign your will voluntarily.
You must have signatures from two disinterested witnesses who are not family members and will not inherit from you.
You must be mentally capable and understand the purpose of the will.
You must understand all assets that you own and who will receive them.

The last two requirements are to prevent someone from writing a will for you and having you sign it without understanding its contents. The disinterested witnesses are also meant to keep unscrupulous family members from forcing a relative to sign something that is unfair to all heirs. You do not have to have the will notarized, but it does make the document stronger in case anyone contests it.

Steps to Prepare for Your Consultation With an Estate Law Attorney

When you decide to meet with our Surfside Beach estate law team, you can speed the planning process by taking a few actions prior to the meeting. Here is what we recommend:

Create an Inventory: Write down all the assets you have, including vehicles, artwork, collections, property, businesses, and financial accounts. Make it as complete as possible.
Name Your Heirs: Make a list of your spouse and children, along with anyone else who should receive part of your estate.
Assign Sentimental Items: If you have specific pieces of jewelry, furniture, or perhaps your treasured recipe box, create a list of those assets and who should receive them.
Print Financial Statements: Bring statement copies for your checking, savings, investment, and retirement accounts.
Check Your Beneficiaries: Review your beneficiary designations for financial accounts and bring a list to the office.
Write Down Questions: We will discuss a lot of topics, and you may get overwhelmed with all the information. If you bring a list of questions with you, you don’t risk forgetting something important you wanted to ask.
Think Through Your Choices: Most people put off thinking about their estate until it’s almost too late. Now is a great time to look at what you have and consider where it should all go.

You can do all these steps after you meet with us, but having this information ready when we meet will let us get to work faster for you. We try to limit the number of calls you have to take once we accept your case, but we never sacrifice the quality of our efforts. The more prepared you are, the easier it is to begin building a strong estate plan.

We Help You Keep Your Estate Plan Current Through Life’s Changes

If you start your estate planning journey at a young age, chances are that you will need to make many updates before you pass away. You may need to include a spouse, children, in-laws, and others, and each transition requires careful attention to how it will affect your assets. At Indigo Family Law, our estate planning lawyers in Surfside Beach can help you through the following circumstances:

Marriage: Gaining a spouse means you should expect at least ½ of your estate to transfer to them if you die. We can explain what property transfers automatically and ways you can speed the distribution of other assets.

Adding a Child: Whether born or adopted, adding a child to your family requires reviewing your estate plan. You can designate a guardian and set aside assets in a trust to support the child’s life after your passing.

Divorce: In South Carolina, divorce is not final until one year after you file, in most cases. During that time of legal separation, you should revisit your estate plan to protect your assets, and review it again when the divorce is final.
Remarriage: Blending families in marriage adds complex layers to your estate plan, and our attorneys can help you provide for children from a previous relationship as well as those in your new union.

Again, we believe in building a strong relationship with each client that lasts through the years. We do the difficult work for you, but we want you to understand what is happening so you can make well-informed decisions. We offer a video library covering frequently asked questions you may have, and we are always available to discuss your concerns by phone or in person.

Contact Our Estate Law Attorneys in Surfside Beach, SC

At Indigo Family Law, all we do is family law, handling adoptions, divorce, estate plans, and more. We seek to become a trusted part of your life, managing the paperwork and legal filings that can seem overwhelming. Instead of trying to tackle the complex estate planning process on your own, schedule a case evaluation with us today and learn more about what we can do for you and your family.