Dorchester County Probate Records
Dorchester County Probate Court handles the county probate functions at the St. George courthouse. The court's jurisdiction includes marriage licenses, estates of deceased persons, guardianships, conservatorships, minor settlements under $25,000, and involuntary commitments for mental illness or chemical dependency. The court also has exclusive jurisdiction over trusts and concurrent jurisdiction with Circuit Court over powers of attorney.
Probate Judge Hon. Mary L. Blunt is listed for Dorchester County Probate Court. The county says Probate Court documents are public records unless otherwise noted, but it also identifies mental health, guardianship, and conservatorship files as protected or confidential records that are not available for public review. That means a search may return public estate data while still blocking personal or medical records from open access.
Probate records also connect to marriage records in Dorchester County because the Probate Court issues marriage licenses. For marriage-license application rules and divorce report distinctions, the separate Dorchester County marriage and divorce records page covers the vital-record side.
Probate Terms Defined
Dorchester County probate records use terms that identify the person who died, the person handling the estate, and the type of court oversight involved. These short definitions help separate estate records from protected guardianship or conservatorship records.
- Testator
- A person who made a will before death.
- Executor
- The person named to carry out a will and manage estate steps under court authority.
- Intestate
- A death without a valid will, which can require heirs to be determined under state law.
- Guardianship
- A court-supervised arrangement for personal care decisions, often involving protected records.
- Conservatorship
- A court-supervised arrangement for financial affairs, also treated as protected by Dorchester Probate Court.
Search Dorchester County Probate Court
The public online route is the South Carolina Probate search. Choose Dorchester Probate from the county dropdown to look for an estate, or Dorchester Marriage for a marriage-license record. The portal can confirm that an estate is being probated and can support copy purchases for available filings. If a decedent died before 2004 and the estate cannot be found, the county directs users to email the Estate Division at estatedivision@dorchestercountysc.gov.
The SC Probate public search is the successful manifest image source for Dorchester County probate records.
The same portal is useful for search confirmation, but mail and office channels still matter for older records, certified copies, and records the public system does not display.
- Select Dorchester Probate in the county field.
- Search by case number, estate name, party name, or other available criteria.
- Review result fields such as case number, case name, party, type of case, filing date, county, appointment date, creditor claim due, and case status.
- If the estate is missing and the death occurred before 2004, email the Estate Division using the county's pre-2004 fallback address.
- Request copies through the portal when available or by mail to the Probate Court office.
Dorchester Probate Court Contact
Dorchester County has one Probate Court contact point for the estate and marriage-license records described in the research. Estate contacts are divided by last-name range for estate matters, but the courthouse address and main Probate Court phone lines are the same.
Dorchester County Probate Court
Probate Judge: Hon. Mary L. Blunt
5200 E. Jim Bilton Blvd.
St. George, SC 29477
(843) 563-0105 or (843) 832-0105
8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays
Estate Division
A-K: (843) 563-0282
L-Z: (843) 563-0136
EstateDivision@DorchesterCountySC.gov
Pre-2004 missing estate fallback: estatedivision@dorchestercountysc.gov
Dorchester Probate Filing Fees
Dorchester County publishes a detailed estate filing fee schedule. Regular estate costs depend on estate value, while copy, will, claim, guardianship, and conservatorship fees are listed as separate items. The county also notes that remaining court costs can be calculated from the estate inventory and billed later.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Initial Dorchester estate filing fee | $25 |
| Regular estate $0-$4,999 | $25 |
| Regular estate $5,000-$19,999 | $45 |
| Regular estate $20,000-$59,999 | $67.50 |
| Regular estate $60,000-$99,999 | $95 |
| Regular estate $100,000-$599,999 | $95 plus 0.15% over $100,000 |
| Regular estate $600,000+ | $845 on first $600,000 plus 0.25% over $600,000 |
| Small estate affidavit up to $100 | $12.50 |
| Small estate affidavit $101-$5,000 | $25 |
| Small estate affidavit $5,001-$9,999.99 | $45 |
| Copies per page | $0.50 |
| Search fee by mail | $0.50 |
| Demand for Notice | $5 |
| Certified copies | $5 |
| Conservatorship accounting | $10 |
| Will only filing | $10 |
| Probate of will | $25 |
| Certified copy of will | $5 |
| Exemplified or authenticated copies | $20 |
| Reopen closed estates | $22.50 |
| Conservatorship or guardianship | $150 |
| Conservatorship and guardianship together | $300 |
What Dorchester Probate Records Show
A public Dorchester County probate file may show the case number, case name, party, filing date, county, appointment date, creditor claim due date, case status, and filings that the court permits for public review. Estate files may include a will, petition, inventory, fiduciary appointment, creditor information, accountings, orders, and closing material. The exact file content depends on the type of estate and what has been filed.
The estate process also affects what is available. If the death was within the last 10 years and a person is starting probate without an attorney, Dorchester County directs that person to complete the Opening Probate Worksheet, print it, and return it with required documents. After the worksheet is reviewed and approved, an estate clerk assigns an Opening Probate Seminar date and time. If the person does not want the seminar, the county says to retain an attorney.
When more than 10 years have passed since death, state law requires a hearing to determine heirs. Petition to Determine Heirs support can include birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses, divorce orders, adoption records, and termination of parental rights. Those documents explain family relationships and may be sensitive, so copy access should be requested with a specific case and document need.
Restricted Dorchester Probate Records
Dorchester Probate Court draws a clear line between ordinary public probate documents and protected categories. The court states that mental health, guardianship, and conservatorship records contain protected and confidential information and are not available for public review. Commitment matters can involve emergency and non-emergency admission for mental illness or chemical dependency, so those records should not be treated like public estate filings.
Regular and small estates also have timing caveats. A regular estate involves real estate or assets over $25,000 and takes at least eight months because of the creditor claim period; the county says to allow at least a year for a non-taxable uncontested estate. A small estate has no real estate and total assets under $25,000, can be administered within a day, and cannot be filed until 30 days after the date of death. Creditor claims run eight months from first publication or one year from date of death, and required publication may use Dorchester Eagle Record or Summerville Journal Scene.
Note: Small estates do not require publication under the county FAQ, and there is no fee to file a creditor claim using Form #371ES.