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Oconee County Probate Court
Oconee County Administrative Offices
PO Box 471
Walhalla, South Carolina 29691
General Information: 864.638.4275
Facsimile: 864.638.4278
Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
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Mission Statement:
The mission of the Probate Court is to serve all people with respect, dignity and compassion through a responsive South Carolina Justice System.
General Information:
Services of the Probate Court include, but are not limited to:
- Estates of decedents, including the contest of wills, construction of wills, and determination of heirs and successors of decedents and estates of protected persons;
- Protection of minors, except the jurisdiction over the care, custody, and control of the persons of minors is governed by Section 62-5-201 and incapacitated persons, including the mortgage and sale of property and real property owned by minors or incapacitated persons as well as gifts made pursuant to the South Carolina Uniform Gifts to Minors Act, Section 20-7-140 et seq., except that jurisdiction for approval of settlement of claims in favor of or against minors or incapacitated persons is governed by Section 62-5-433;
- Trusts inter vivos or testamentary, including the appointment of successor trustees;
- The issuance of marriage licenses, in form as provided by the Bureau of Vital Statistics of the Department of Health and Environmental Control; record, index, and dispose of copies of marriage certificates; and issue certified copies of the licenses and certificates;
- The performance of the duties of the clerk of the circuit and family courts of the county in which the probate court is held when there is a vacancy in the office of clerk of court and in proceedings in eminent domain for the acquisition of rights-of-way by railway companies, canal companies, governmental entitles, or public utilities when the clerk is disqualified by reason of ownership of interest in lands over which it is sought to obtain the rights-of-way;
- The involuntary commitment of persons suffering from mental illness, mental retardation, alcoholism, drug addiction, and active pulmonary tuberculosis.
- The court’s jurisdiction over matters involving wrongful death or actions under the survival statute is concurrent with that of the circuit court and shall extend only to the approval of settlements as provided in Sections 15-51-41 and 15-51-42 and to the allocations of settlement proceeds among the parties involved in the estate.
- Notwithstanding the exclusive jurisdiction of the probate court over the foregoing matters, any action or proceeding filed in the probate court over the foregoing matters, any action or proceeding filed in the probate court and relating to the following subject matters, on motion of a party, or by the court on its own motion, made not later than ten days following the date on which all responsive pleadings must be filed, must be removed to the circuit court and in these cases the circuit court shall proceed upon the matter de novo:
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Formal proceedings for the probate court of wills and for the appointment of personal representatives;
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Construction of wills;
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Actions to try title;
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Trusts
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Actions in which a party has a right to trial by jury and which involve an amount in controversy of at least five thousand dollars in value;
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Actions concerning gifts made pursuant to the South Carolina Uniform Gifts to Minors Act, Section 20-7-140 et seq.
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