SC Bar Wills Trusts and Estates 2

Question 1

Under the South Carolina Probate Code, how many witnesses must sign a will for it to be validly executed?

Accepted Answer

Two

Answer

S.C. Code § 62-2-502 requires the will to be signed by at least two individuals who witnessed the testator's signature or acknowledgment.

Question 2

A South Carolina resident writes and signs a will entirely in her own handwriting with no witnesses. Is the will valid in South Carolina?

Accepted Answer

No, South Carolina does not recognize holographic wills executed in the state

Answer

South Carolina does not recognize unwitnessed holographic wills executed in the state, though it honors those validly executed under another jurisdiction's law.

Question 3

Under South Carolina intestacy law, if a decedent is survived by a spouse and two children, how is the probate estate divided?

Accepted Answer

The spouse takes one-half and the children share the other half

Answer

Under S.C. Code § 62-2-102, a surviving spouse takes one-half when the decedent leaves surviving issue, and the issue share the remainder.

Question 4

What is the amount of the surviving spouse's elective share in South Carolina?

Accepted Answer

One-third of the probate estate

Answer

S.C. Code § 62-2-201 entitles a surviving spouse to elect one-third of the decedent's probate estate.

Question 5

Testator's will leaves $50,000 to his brother, who predeceases him leaving a daughter. Under South Carolina's anti-lapse statute, who takes the gift?

Accepted Answer

The brother's daughter

Answer

South Carolina's anti-lapse statute saves gifts to a predeceased devisee who is a grandparent or lineal descendant of a grandparent by passing the gift to the devisee's surviving issue.

(SC Bar) South Carolina Bar Exam Practice Test

(SC Bar) South Carolina Bar Exam Practice Test

SC Bar Wills Trusts and Estates 2