Probate leads in Horry County, South Carolina.
Investors researching probate leads in Horry County can compare public court lists with USLeadList death and property matches, which do not wait for a court filing. Our average is 204 records per month.
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Inside Horry County
What the data looks like here.Horry County is covered: our pre-probate and inheritance data adds about 204 records a month across Myrtle Beach, Conway and the unincorporated county, with 55 months tracked and a peak of 256. Every record starts from death and property data, not the Conway probate docket.
Why investors work Horry County
South Carolina reappraises real property to market value on an assessable transfer of interest, and 12-37-3150(A)(6) counts an inheritance distribution as one. Two situations escape it: the heir is the surviving spouse, or every distributee is a child of a decedent who left no spouse and the home already carried the four percent owner-occupied ratio. A later sale by those children is not exempt, and the 15 percent five-year cap does not apply that year. An heir who does not move in drops from four percent to six percent and loses the school operating millage exemption, so holding a parent's Horry house stops being free. Relief exists only through the 25 percent exemption at 12-37-3135, claimed from the county assessor before January 31 of the first tax year claimed.
On the ground
Horry is South Carolina's largest county, and its housing splits on a line locals know: the Waccamaw River. The county's own population element reports that newcomers cluster east of the Waccamaw near the beach, while growth since 2000 pushed inland along the highway corridors at Burgess, Forestbrook, Socastee and Carolina Forest. A rented beach-strand unit is a short-term-rental question, an inland subdivision house on a homestead exemption is a tax-ratio question, and one county-wide price gets both wrong. That same plan puts roughly 37 percent of Horry residents at 55 or older and notes a death rate that outruns the birth rate, about five deaths for every four births.
Comparing Probate Lead Sources in Horry County
Every Horry estate runs through one court, the Horry County Probate Court in Conway, and because South Carolina has no statewide probate e-filing, applications and the certified death certificate go to that office instead of through the judiciary's electronic system. The court runs its own public probate index, separate from the South Carolina Judicial Branch Case Records Search, which covers circuit and magistrate courts and leaves probate out entirely. Creditors receive published notice once a week for three successive weeks, and claims are barred eight months from first publication. The $45,000 small estate route under 62-3-1201 needs the probate judge's countersignature and a filing with the court, and it reaches personal property only, so a house still moves by deed of distribution, by survivorship, or through a revocable trust. Because the county treats every document filed with the probate court as public record, a competing investor can pull the same estate file the day it lands. USLeadList's Horry file starts from death and property records about five weeks after a death, without waiting for that filing and often before it, independent of whether a case ever opens, and it is sold to no more than three subscribers.
How South Carolina rules shape Horry leads
Verified state research, applied locally.South Carolina reappraises real property to fair market value on an assessable transfer of interest, and S.C. Code 12-37-3150(A)(6) makes a conveyance by distribution under a will or by intestate succession exactly that, with only two exceptions: the distributee is the decedent's spouse, or every distributee is a child of a decedent who left no spouse and the home already carried the special four percent owner-occupied ratio. A later conveyance by those children is not exempt. The 15 percent five-year cap does not apply in the year of an assessable transfer (12-37-3140). An heir who does not occupy also falls from the four percent legal residence ratio to six percent and loses the school operating millage exemption (12-43-220(c), 12-37-220(B)(47)); renting for more than 72 days disqualifies the four percent ratio. The only relief is the 25 percent exemption at 12-37-3135, and it reaches only property at the six percent ratio under 12-43-220(e), must be claimed by notifying the county assessor before January 31 of the first tax year claimed, and cannot cut the exemption value below current fair market value.
Ways property can avoid probate
South Carolina has no transfer on death deed for real property. S.49 of the 2025-2026 session would have created one by adding S.C. Code 27-1-80, but it was read a first time on January 14, 2025 and referred to the Committee on Judiciary and was never enacted, so no section 27-1-80 exists. Real property stays out of probate through a revocable living trust or joint tenancy with right of survivorship; the small estate affidavit under 62-3-1201 reaches personal property only, and real property otherwise passes by a deed of distribution from the personal representative.
Small-estate route
$45,000, raised from $25,000 by 2025 Act No. 26 (H.3472), effective May 8, 2025. Collection of personal property by affidavit is available 30 days after death where the value of the entire probate estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed that amount; the affidavit must be countersigned by the probate judge of the county of domicile and filed with that court (S.C. Code 62-3-1201). The same $45,000 figure governs summary administration and closing by sworn statement (62-3-1203, 62-3-1204) and the surviving spouse's exempt property (62-2-401). The affidavit reaches tangible personal property and instruments evidencing a debt, obligation, stock or chose in action, not real property.
Timing that affects the public record
On appointment the personal representative must publish notice to creditors once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, and creditors have eight months from the date of first publication or are forever barred; a creditor given written notice has the earlier of one year from the death or 60 days from the mailing (S.C. Code 62-3-801). All claims arising before death are barred at the earlier of one year after death or those notice periods (62-3-803). Notice to creditors is not required at all if no personal representative is appointed within one year of death. The small estate affidavit requires 30 days after death (62-3-1201). No South Carolina judiciary source publishes a typical duration.
Where court cases can be checked
No statewide probate search. The judiciary's Case Records Search covers circuit and magistrate courts and some municipal courts across all 46 counties, and explicitly excludes probate court records, which are held by each county probate court
Why pre-probate
Why pre-probate leads in Horry County, South Carolina?A public probate list requires a filed case. Our source does not require a filing and may precede a later filing, but that is not guaranteed.
Inheritance creates a property decision
A death does not guarantee a sale. It does create practical decisions about upkeep, distance, taxes, repairs and whether anyone in the family wants the property.
Earlier than a court filing
When probate is required, the public case begins after the death and after someone files. Our county records begin with the death record itself.
Not limited to probate cases
Trusts, survivorship ownership and state-specific transfer instruments can move a property without an ordinary probate case. Court-only lists do not identify those paths.
Property data with optional contact enrichment
Size, location, value, and tax information come with the property record. Phone, email, spouse, and relative data are available through the skip tracing add-on.
What we mean by pre-probate
Pre-probate > probate. Here's why.Our Horry County data is not a court probate list. It identifies inherited-property records from deaths, including properties that may later enter probate and properties that never do.
The court docket is only one transfer path.
A trust, survivorship ownership or an authorized transfer deed may keep a property out of an ordinary probate case. The exact rules vary by state, which is why the local court and transfer details above matter.
An inheritance creates choices, not a guaranteed sale:
- Keep or occupy the property
- Rent it or transfer it within the family
- Sell it privately or through a public listing
FAQ
Horry County-specific questions.How many Horry County probate leads arrive in a typical month?
Where are Horry County probate court records kept?
Can a $45,000 small estate affidavit transfer a house in South Carolina?
Do you have leads for Conway, South Carolina?
How do I work these leads in Horry County?
Why purchase from USLeadList?
Who uses USLeadList pre-probate leads?
How do I purchase pre-probate leads in Horry County?
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