Probate Estate Planning and Trust Law Section
Section is actively involved in shaping and revising the Uniform Probate Code. It sponsors a CLE seminar at the Bar convention; publishes a newsletter; monitors state and federal legislative developments; encourages members to become certified specialists; monitors unauthorized practice of law issues; and provides speakers for civic and community groups. Other projects include reviewing statutes pertaining to durable powers of attorney and reviewing the use of mediation in probate court matters.
Materials from the 2005 Bar Convention Probate Section seminar:
South Carolina Trust Code
The Uniform Trust Code (UTC) had been enacted in 12 states and was under consideration in several more. Much of the UTC is relatively unremarkable, accumulating in one statutory location a substantial part of existing statutory and common law, without changing either. However, some of the UTC does change existing law generally, and would change existing South Carolina law as well. The South Carolina Trust Code (SCTC) Study Committee (the Committee) � chaired by Jim Hardin, comprised of many of the best and brightest estate planning and probate lawyers from our state, with Alan Medlin serving as Reporter � decided to recommend some of the UTC provisions that would change existing South Carolina law but to reject some others. Especially in the few areas in which the UTC is provoking some controversy elsewhere, the Committee appeared to be particularly careful to dilute those controversial UTC provisions by rejecting, replacing, or modifying them. The proposed South Carolina Trust Code (SCTC) would codify or recodify some of the existing South Carolina statutory and common law, clarify some issues not previously dealt with legislatively or judicially in South Carolina, and change some of the existing South Carolina law. Please see the synopsis, which discusses some of these issues, with a particular emphasis on proposed changes to existing South Carolina law.
Proposed SCTC has been approved by the Probate, Estate Planning & Trust Section, chaired by Rita Bragg Cullum. The Board of Governors and House of Delegates have approved SCTC for prefiling with the legislature.
If you have questions or comments, please contact:
Alan Medlin at Alan@law.law.sc.edu
SCTC Reporter
Jim Hardin at jhardin@kennedycovington.com
SCTC Study Committee Chairperson
Rita Bragg Cullum at rcullum@ellislawhorne.com
Probate, Estate Planning & Trust Section Chairperson