{"data":{"id":"us-sc/s.c.-code-ann.-62-3-401","jurisdiction":"us-sc","citation":"S.C. Code Ann. § 62-3-401","heading":"Formal testacy proceedings; nature; when commenced.","body":"A formal testacy proceeding is litigation to determine whether a decedent left a valid will. A formal testacy proceeding must be commenced by an interested person filing and serving a summons and a petition as described in Section 62-3-402(a) in which he requests that the court, after notice and hearing, enter an order probating a will, or a petition to set aside an informal probate of a will or to prevent informal probate of a will which is the subject of a pending application, or a petition in accordance with Section 62-3-402(b) for an order that the decedent died intestate.\nA petition may seek formal probate of a will without regard to whether the same or a conflicting will has been informally probated. A formal testacy proceeding may, but need not, involve a request for appointment of a personal representative.\nDuring the pendency of a formal testacy proceeding, the court shall not act upon any application for informal probate of any will of the decedent or any application for informal appointment of a personal representative of the decedent.\nUnless a petition in a formal testacy proceeding also requests confirmation of the previous informal appointment, a previously appointed personal representative, after receipt of notice of the commencement of a formal probate proceeding, must refrain from exercising his power to make any further distribution of the estate during the pendency of the formal proceeding. A petitioner who seeks the appointment of a different personal representative in a formal proceeding also may request an order restraining the acting personal representative from exercising any of the powers of his office and requesting the appointment of a special administrator. In the absence of a request, or if the request is denied, the commencement of a formal proceeding has no effect on the powers and duties of a previously appointed personal representative other than those relating to distribution.","path":["Title 62 - SOUTH CAROLINA PROBATE CODE","ARTICLE 3 Probate of Wills and Administration","Part 4 Formal Testacy and Appointment Proceedings"],"source_url":"https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t62c003.php","current_through":"2025 Session of the General Assembly","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-02T08:08:34Z","sha256":"5089ea7383e307ae5395f5a47b7bd7a9bc823a9a7a0cb1bc957612e258773cc9","source_id":"us-sc","stale":false,"prev":"us-sc/s.c.-code-ann.-62-3-311","next":"us-sc/s.c.-code-ann.-62-3-402"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}