On occasion, an executor or personal representative is required to administer South Carolina property of a non-resident, and no estate administration is open in the decedent's State of residence.  An alternative to opening a proceeding in the home State, and then documenting the authority of the "foreign" personal representative to act in South Carolina through the use of exemplified filings, is the ancillary estate administration process.

In essence, a complete estate administration is commenced in South Carolina, just as if the decedent had died a resident of the State.  The administration is filed in the County in which the decedent owned real estate. The personal representative is appointed, must file a complete Inventory of assets, wherever sited, and after the running of the appropriate creditor claim period, he or she must file an Accounting, Proposal for Distribution and Petition for Settlement just as would be the case for a resident decedent's estate.  As with a resident estate, certain abbreviated procedures are available and based upon a number of factors may provide a significant time- and therefore cost- savings.