How to Fill Out the South Carolina Inventory and Appraisement of the Estate (Form 350ES) + FAQs

When someone you love dies and a South Carolina Probate Court appoints you to settle their estate, one of the first big jobs that lands on your desk is the Inventory and Appraisement of the Estate, known to the courts as Form 350ES. It is the official snapshot of everything the deceased person owned in their name alone on the day they died, along with what each item was worth. The court uses it. The heirs rely on it. Creditors review it. And the fee you eventually pay to close the estate is calculated directly from the numbers you write on it.

This guide walks you through the form line by line, in plain language, the way a seasoned probate paralegal would explain it to you across the counter. You will learn who must file, what documents to gather first, how to fill out each of the nine schedules, three worked-out examples using realistic estates, how to file, what happens afterward, and the mistakes that get inventories rejected and mailed right back to you.

The form looks intimidating at first. It is really just a careful list with a few math steps. Take it one schedule at a time, report only what belongs there, and you will get through it. By the end of this article you will know exactly what goes where, what stays off the form entirely, and how to avoid the errors that cost grieving families weeks of delay.

What Form 350ES Is and Who Must File It

Form 350ES is the Inventory and Appraisement of the Estate, a mandatory document filed in the county Probate Court where the estate is being administered. Its legal foundation is South Carolina Code Section 62-3-706, which makes it the duty of the Personal Representative to prepare an inventory of the decedent’s probate property, listing each item with reasonable detail and its fair market value as of the date of death.

The form exists in two versions. The Short Form (350ES SF) is the one most people use, because it covers only the decedent’s probate assets and is all the typical estate needs. The Long Form (350ES LF) adds columns for non-probate transfers and is used in larger or more complex estates, often when an attorney is involved or when fuller disclosure is desired. There is also a Continuation Sheet (350ES SF Cont.) for when a schedule runs out of room. Because the York County Probate Court instructions confirm that most Personal Representatives file the Short Form, this guide focuses on it while noting Long Form differences where they matter.

The person who must file is the Personal Representative (PR) — the executor named in a will, or the administrator appointed when there is no will. If you received Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration from the Probate Court, that is you. The duty is personal and cannot be delegated. As the York County court bluntly notes, estate paralegals are not allowed to prepare the form for you and are not responsible for its accuracy; they may answer general procedural questions but cannot give legal advice. Whether you hired a lawyer or are handling the estate yourself, your signature on the form is a sworn statement that the inventory is complete and accurate.

Before You Start: Documents and Information You Need

The single biggest reason inventories get returned is that the PR started filling out the form before gathering the facts. Spend an afternoon collecting paperwork first, and the form practically fills itself. The golden rule that governs the entire document: you list only the decedent’s probate property — assets that were in the decedent’s name alone with no automatic transfer mechanism attached.

Before you write anything, pull together the following:

• Real estate records. Deeds, the county tax map number (parcel ID), the assessed value notice, and the deed book and page number for every piece of land the decedent owned an interest in, whether in South Carolina or another state.
• Bank and credit union statements for every checking, savings, money market, and certificate of deposit account, showing the balance as of the date of death.
• Brokerage and investment statements for stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and similar holdings, again valued as of the date of death.
• Vehicle titles and registrations for cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, trailers, and recreational vehicles, plus a value source such as a Kelley Blue Book or NADA printout.
• Life insurance policies, so you can determine whether any proceeds are payable to the estate rather than to a named beneficiary.
• Documentation of the decedent’s ownership percentage in any jointly held asset, because you report only the decedent’s share.
• Statements showing debts secured by property — mortgages, home equity lines, and car loans — which you will list as encumbrances.

A critical sorting step happens here. Set aside everything that passes outside probate, because none of it goes on the Short Form. According to the York County guidance, property owned jointly with rights of survivorship, life insurance or annuity proceeds paid directly to a living beneficiary, and IRA, Keogh, and 401(k) accounts with valid beneficiary designations are all non-probate assets that you do not list. Mixing these in is the number one error that gets an inventory rejected.

Where to Get the Form and How to Access It

Form 350ES is available statewide, and you have two reliable ways to get it. First, you can contact your county Probate Court directly and ask the clerk to mail or email it to you. Second, and usually faster, you can download it yourself from the South Carolina Judicial Department website. Navigate to Court Forms, choose the Probate Court from the drop-down menu, and download the Inventory and Appraisement form (350ES). The same page offers the Long Form and the Continuation Sheet.

Many counties also post the form directly on their own websites for convenience. You can find it on the Charleston County Probate Court forms page, the Horry County Probate Court forms page, and the Lexington County Probate Court forms page. These county pages typically offer the form in both PDF and editable Word (.doc) format. The Word version is handy because you can type your entries, save your work, and revise easily before printing for signature.

Always make sure you are using the current revision of the form. Probate forms are periodically updated by the Judicial Department, and an outdated version can cause processing delays. The safest practice is to download a fresh copy from the state Judicial Department site at the time you are ready to prepare it, rather than reusing an old file. If you intend to type your entries, use the Word document; if you prefer to handwrite, print the PDF and write legibly in black ink, because the form becomes a permanent public court record.

Step-by-Step: How to Fill Out Form 350ES Line by Line

The form has a caption at the top, a Recapitulation summary on page one, the encumbrances section on page two, nine lettered schedules where you list the actual assets, and a sworn signature block at the end. The workflow runs backward from how the form reads: you fill out the schedules first, then carry each schedule’s total up to the Recapitulation, and finally add the Recapitulation figures to produce the Gross Value of the Probate Estate. Read the small print printed on each schedule carefully, because it tells you precisely which assets belong there.

The Caption and Heading

Start at the very top with the case identification block. Enter the county in which the estate is being administered, the case number assigned by the Probate Court (it usually begins with the year and a series of digits, such as 2026ES1234567), and the full legal name of the decedent exactly as it appears on the Letters you received.

You will also indicate whether this is an original inventory or a supplemental or amended inventory. A supplemental inventory is filed later if you discover additional assets after the original was submitted. Getting the caption right matters because the clerk files the document by case number; an error here can cause your inventory to be misfiled or associated with the wrong estate. Double-check that the spelling of the decedent’s name matches the court record precisely, including middle names, suffixes such as Jr. or Sr., and any “aka” names listed on the appointment paperwork.

The Recapitulation (Page One Summary)

The Recapitulation is the summary table on page one that lists each schedule (A through I) with a blank for its total and a final line for the Gross Value of the Probate Estate. Even though it appears first on the form, you complete it last. Leave it blank while you work through the schedules, then transfer each schedule’s subtotal into the matching line here.

Once every schedule total is entered, add them together to arrive at the Gross Value of the Probate Estate. This single number is the most important figure on the entire form, because the court’s property valuation fee is calculated from it. A common and costly misunderstanding lives here: you do not subtract debts, mortgages, or other encumbrances from this gross figure. The Recapitulation reports gross value, not net value. Encumbrances are disclosed separately on page two for informational purposes only and never reduce the totals you carry into the Recapitulation.

Encumbrances (Page Two)

Page two is where you disclose debts that are secured by the assets you listed, such as a mortgage on the house, a home equity line of credit, or a loan against a vehicle. For each one, describe the debt and identify which asset it is attached to.

The point of this section is transparency: it shows the court and interested parties that an asset, although listed at its full fair market value, carries an offsetting obligation. But here is the rule that trips up almost everyone — as the York County instructions state plainly, you list encumbrances on page two but you do not deduct them from the values in the Recapitulation on page one. If the decedent owned a $300,000 house with a $180,000 mortgage, Schedule A still shows $300,000 (or the decedent’s percentage of it), and the $180,000 mortgage simply appears here as an encumbrance. The gross estate value stays at the full amount.

Schedule A — Real Estate

Schedule A is for the decedent’s real property: a house and lot, a condominium, vacant land, farm acreage, or any interest in land. List property located anywhere the decedent owned it, both inside South Carolina and in any other state. A great deal of detail is requested here, and it pays off later for the heirs, devisees, and title examiners who will rely on this record.

For each parcel, provide the street address or legal description, the county tax map number (parcel identification number), and the deed book and page number where the deed is recorded. You can usually find the tax map number and recording information through your county’s online land records search or Register of Deeds. A formal appraisal is not required; the PR must simply assign a reasonable fair market value as of the date of death. Many PRs use the county tax assessor’s value, a real estate agent’s market analysis, or a recent comparable sale to support the figure.

The percentage rule is essential on Schedule A. You report only the decedent’s ownership interest. If the decedent owned 50% of a house worth $100,000, you list a value of $50,000, not $100,000. And remember the survivorship trap: if the home was held jointly with rights of survivorship, it passed automatically to the survivor and is a non-probate asset that does not go on this schedule at all. Consider asking a tax professional about the “step-up” in basis for inherited real estate, which can significantly reduce future capital gains taxes for the heirs.

Schedule B — Stocks and Bonds

Schedule B captures the decedent’s probate-owned securities: individual stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and similar investments held in an account or as certificates titled in the decedent’s name alone. Read the small print on the schedule, because the same governing principle applies — you report only the decedent’s probate share.

For each holding, describe the security (company name, number of shares, type of bond) and assign its fair market value as of the date of death, which you can pull from the brokerage statement closest to that date. If an investment account was held jointly with rights of survivorship, or if it had a valid Transfer-on-Death (TOD) or Payable-on-Death (POD) beneficiary designation, it is a non-probate asset and stays off the form. Only securities that were the decedent’s individual probate property, with no automatic transfer mechanism, belong on Schedule B.

Schedule C — Mortgages, Notes, and Cash

Schedule C is for cash and cash-equivalent assets and for debts owed to the decedent. This includes bank accounts (checking, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit), cash on hand, and any promissory notes or mortgages held by the decedent where someone owed money to the decedent.

List each bank account with the institution name and the balance as of the date of death, and describe any note receivable with its outstanding balance. The schedule carries one important nuance: if the Personal Representative receives a settlement on behalf of the decedent from a personal injury lawsuit, only the portion of that settlement allocated to the survival action is reported on Schedule C. The wrongful death portion is handled separately and is not a probate asset of this kind. As always, accounts that were joint with survivorship or had a POD beneficiary do not belong here.

Schedule D — Life Insurance Payable to the Estate

Schedule D is narrow and frequently misunderstood. You report life insurance proceeds only when they are payable to the estate — not when they go to a named living beneficiary. If a policy names a spouse, child, or other person as beneficiary, the insurance company is contractually bound to pay that person directly, and those proceeds are a non-probate asset that never touches the inventory.

Proceeds come into the estate, and therefore onto Schedule D, only in specific situations: when the policy named the estate itself as the beneficiary, when all named beneficiaries died before the decedent, or when no beneficiary was ever designated. In those cases the insurer pays the death benefit to the estate, and you list the policy and the amount here. If every policy has a living named beneficiary — which is the most common situation — Schedule D will simply be blank with a zero total.

Schedule E — Jointly Owned Property (Probate Portion)

Schedule E addresses property that the decedent co-owned but that does not pass automatically by survivorship — for example, property held as tenants in common, where each owner’s share passes through their own estate rather than to the co-owner. Read the schedule’s small print closely, because the distinction between a survivorship arrangement and a tenancy in common determines whether anything goes here at all.

For tenant-in-common property, you report only the decedent’s fractional probate interest. If the decedent owned a one-third interest in a parcel as a tenant in common, you list one-third of the fair market value. By contrast, anything held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship passed outside probate and is excluded. When in doubt about how a particular asset is titled, check the deed or account agreement for the exact survivorship language, and contact the Probate Court’s paralegal with procedural questions.

Schedule F — Vehicles and Personal Property

Schedule F covers titled vehicles and the decedent’s tangible personal property and household effects. For vehicles — cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, and trailers — include detailed information such as the year, make, model, and VIN, along with a fair market value supported by a recognized valuation guide.

For ordinary household goods, furniture, clothing, and personal effects, the York County instructions offer welcome relief: unless the decedent owned valuable antiques, art collections, gun collections, jewelry, or similar high-value items, you do not need to itemize each object or assign large values. Everyday belongings may carry deep sentimental value but little monetary value, so a reasonable lump-sum estimate for “household goods and personal effects” is acceptable. Reserve detailed itemized listings for genuinely valuable collectibles, which should be described specifically and valued individually.

Schedules G, H, and I — Rarely Used Categories

Schedules G, H, and I exist for less common categories of property and other assets that do not fit neatly into Schedules A through F. In the great majority of estates, these schedules remain blank.

Because they come up so rarely, the York County court simply advises PRs to contact the Probate Court with questions if they believe an asset belongs in one of these categories. If you are unsure whether an unusual asset — a business interest, an oil and gas royalty, an intellectual property right, or a similar item — fits here, call the court’s estate paralegal for procedural guidance, and consider consulting an attorney for anything genuinely complex. Enter a total of zero for any schedule with no entries so the Recapitulation math stays clean.

The Sworn Signature Block

The final step is signing. The signature block contains a sworn affirmation that the inventory and appraisement contains a complete and accurate listing of all the decedent’s probate property and its fair market value. By signing, you are making this statement under oath as the Personal Representative.

Depending on your county’s practice and the form version, your signature may need to be notarized or witnessed, so do not sign until you are in front of a notary or have confirmed the court’s requirement. Provide your name, mailing address, and the date. Because this is a sworn statement, deliberately omitting assets or misstating values can expose you to personal liability and removal as PR, so review the whole form one final time before you sign.

Three Filled-Out Examples Using Real Scenarios

Seeing the form populated with realistic numbers makes the abstract rules concrete. Here are three estates of increasing complexity.

Example 1 — The simple estate (Margaret, a widow). Margaret died owning a single checking account with $8,500 and a 2014 Honda Civic worth $9,000. Her small life insurance policy named her daughter as beneficiary. On her Form 350ES, the daughter’s life insurance never appears, because it is a non-probate asset paid directly to a beneficiary. Schedule C shows the $8,500 bank account. Schedule F shows the Civic at $9,000. Every other schedule is zero. The Recapitulation adds up to a Gross Value of the Probate Estate of $17,500. There are no encumbrances. The form is one page of real content and takes about thirty minutes once the statements are in hand.

Example 2 — The mid-size estate (Robert, a homeowner). Robert owned a house in his name alone worth $300,000 with a $180,000 mortgage, a savings account of $45,000, a brokerage account of $60,000 with no beneficiary designation, and a pickup truck worth $22,000. Schedule A shows the house at its full $300,000 (he owned 100%), with the mortgage disclosed on page two as a $180,000 encumbrance that is not subtracted. Schedule B shows $60,000 in securities. Schedule C shows $45,000. Schedule F shows the $22,000 truck. The Recapitulation totals a Gross Value of $427,000, even though Robert’s net worth after the mortgage was lower — the form reports gross, not net.

Example 3 — The complex estate (Eleanor, partial and out-of-state property). Eleanor owned a 50% interest as a tenant in common in a South Carolina beach lot worth $400,000, a vacation cabin in North Carolina worth $250,000 owned outright, bank accounts totaling $120,000, and a stock portfolio of $310,000 held individually. Schedule A lists her $200,000 half-interest in the beach lot (50% of $400,000) and the full $250,000 North Carolina cabin, because out-of-state real property still goes on the inventory. Schedule B shows $310,000 and Schedule C shows $120,000. Her Recapitulation reaches a Gross Value of $880,000. Because this exceeds $600,000, the probate judge will forward a copy to the South Carolina Department of Revenue under SC Code Section 12-16-1220, a reporting step that happens automatically and requires no extra action from Eleanor’s PR.

How to File the Completed Form

Once the form is filled out, the math checks, and it is signed (and notarized if your county requires), you file it with the Probate Court in the county where the estate is being administered — the same court that issued your Letters. Filing channels vary slightly by county, so confirm local practice, but the standard options are to deliver it in person, mail it, or in some counties email it to the court’s estate division. Counties such as Charleston, Horry, and Lexington publish their specific contact details and procedures on their probate pages.

The deadline is firm: the inventory is due within 90 days after your appointment as Personal Representative. If you cannot meet that deadline — perhaps because an asset is hard to value or out-of-state property complicates matters — you may request an extension by filing Form 352ES, Motion for Extension, before the 90 days run out. Do not let the deadline pass silently; ask for the extension in advance.

Beyond filing with the court, the law also requires you to mail a copy of the inventory and appraisement to any interested party within the 90-day window, as confirmed by the Gem McDowell Law Group summary of the PR’s duties. Interested parties include the heirs, devisees, and others entitled to notice. Keep a copy for your own records and note the date you mailed copies, because you may need to demonstrate later that you met this obligation. Make sure the form is complete before filing, because the court will return an incorrectly prepared inventory rather than fix it.

What Happens After You File

After you submit an accurate inventory, the estate paralegal files it into the court record and calculates a property valuation fee based on the gross value you reported. This fee is set by statute under South Carolina Code Section 8-21-770, and the court mails or delivers you an invoice for it. These fees must be paid before the estate can be closed, so budget for them as part of the administration.

If the gross probate value is $600,000 or more, the probate judge is required to send a copy of your inventory and appraisal (and any probated will) to the South Carolina Department of Revenue within thirty days, under SC Code Section 12-16-1220. This is a holdover from the era of state “pickup” estate taxes; because the federal credit that funded those taxes was phased out in 2005, South Carolina no longer collects a separate state estate tax, so for most estates this reporting is purely informational and triggers no tax bill. Still, it explains why hitting that threshold draws an extra administrative step.

The inventory then becomes the baseline for the rest of the administration. It establishes what assets exist, gives creditors a reference for whether the estate can pay claims, and sets the starting point for the later accounting you will file. If you discover additional assets after filing — a forgotten bank account or an unexpected refund — you file a supplemental inventory to add them. The inventory does not, by itself, close the estate; it is an early milestone in a process that also includes paying valid debts, handling the creditor claim period, and eventually filing an accounting and closing documents.

Mistakes to Avoid When Filling Out the Form

The errors below are the ones that most often get an inventory rejected, delay an estate, or expose the PR to liability. Each is easy to avoid once you know it exists.

• Listing non-probate assets. The most frequent mistake is including joint-with-survivorship property, life insurance or annuities paid to a named beneficiary, and IRA, 401(k), or Keogh accounts with valid beneficiary designations. These pass outside probate and must stay off the Short Form entirely.
• Reporting the full value instead of the decedent’s share. When the decedent owned a percentage of an asset, you list only that percentage. A 50% interest in a $100,000 property is reported as $50,000, not $100,000.
• Deducting encumbrances from the Recapitulation. Mortgages and loans are disclosed on page two but never subtracted from the gross totals on page one. The Recapitulation reports gross value, period.
• Forgetting out-of-state real estate. All of the decedent’s probate property must be listed, whether located in South Carolina or another state, so a cabin in another state still belongs on Schedule A.
• Over-itemizing ordinary household goods. You do not need to list and value every piece of furniture and clothing; a reasonable lump sum is fine, with detailed listings reserved for genuinely valuable antiques, art, firearms, or jewelry.
• Missing the 90-day deadline. If you cannot file in time, request an extension with Form 352ES before the deadline rather than letting it lapse.
• Failing to mail copies to interested parties. Filing with the court is not enough; the heirs and devisees are entitled to a copy within the same 90-day window.

Do’s and Don’ts

A quick-reference list to keep beside you as you work.

Do:

• Read the small print printed on each schedule before entering anything, because it tells you exactly which assets belong there.
• Gather every statement, deed, and title and value each asset as of the date of death.
• Report only the decedent’s probate property and only the decedent’s ownership percentage.
• Carry each schedule’s total up to the Recapitulation and add them for the gross value.
• Keep copies and note the date you mailed the inventory to interested parties.
• Call your county Probate Court’s estate paralegal for procedural questions.

Don’t:

• Don’t include joint-survivorship accounts, beneficiary-designated retirement accounts, or insurance paid to a named beneficiary.
• Don’t subtract debts or mortgages from the Recapitulation totals.
• Don’t sign before a notary if your county requires notarization, and don’t sign until the form is complete and accurate.
• Don’t guess wildly at real estate values; use the tax assessment, a market analysis, or a comparable sale.
• Don’t expect the court to correct errors — an incorrect inventory gets returned to you.
• Don’t ignore the 90-day deadline; file Form 352ES for an extension if needed.

Pros and Cons of Filing on Your Own vs. With Help

Many South Carolina estates are settled by a pro se Personal Representative without an attorney, and for simple estates that is entirely reasonable. But the right choice depends on the complexity of the assets and your comfort with detail.

Approach	Advantages	Drawbacks
Filing on your own (pro se)	No attorney fees; full control over timing; the Short Form is manageable for a straightforward estate; court paralegals can answer procedural questions	You bear full responsibility for accuracy under oath; easy to misclassify probate vs. non-probate assets; valuation and percentage-interest errors can cause rejection and delay
Filing with attorney help	Professional handling of complex assets, out-of-state property, and percentage interests; reduced risk of rejection; guidance on step-up basis and tax issues	Legal fees reduce what heirs receive; you still must supply all the underlying records; signature and ultimate responsibility remain with you as PR

A practical middle path works for many people: prepare the form yourself, then have an attorney review it once before filing, especially if the estate includes real estate, business interests, tenant-in-common property, or a gross value approaching or exceeding $600,000. That keeps costs down while catching the classification and valuation mistakes that cause the most trouble.

FAQs

Which version of Form 350ES should I use — Short Form or Long Form? Most Personal Representatives use the Short Form (350ES SF), which lists only the decedent’s probate assets and is sufficient for the typical estate. The Long Form (350ES LF) adds disclosure of non-probate transfers and is generally used in larger or more complex estates or when an attorney prefers fuller reporting. When a schedule runs out of space, attach the Continuation Sheet (350ES SF Cont.).

Do I have to include my mom’s house if it was jointly owned with right of survivorship? No. Property held jointly with rights of survivorship passes automatically to the surviving owner and is a non-probate asset, so it does not go on the Short Form at all. The same exclusion applies to life insurance and annuities paid to a named living beneficiary and to IRA, 401(k), and Keogh accounts with valid beneficiary designations.

Do I need to hire a professional appraiser? Not for most assets. The PR must assign a reasonable fair market value as of the date of death, but a formal appraisal is not required for real estate; a tax assessment, real estate market analysis, or comparable sale is commonly used. For valuable antiques, art, jewelry, or collections, a professional appraisal is a good idea to support the value you report.

When is the form due, and what if I need more time? The inventory is due within 90 days of your appointment as Personal Representative. If you need more time, file Form 352ES, Motion for Extension, with the Probate Court before the 90 days expire, rather than letting the deadline pass.

Do I subtract the mortgage from the home’s value? No. You list the asset at its full fair market value (or the decedent’s percentage of it) on the schedule, and you separately disclose the mortgage as an encumbrance on page two. Encumbrances are never subtracted from the gross totals in the Recapitulation.

What happens if my estate is worth more than $600,000? The probate judge is required to send a copy of your inventory and appraisal, along with any probated will, to the South Carolina Department of Revenue within thirty days, under SC Code Section 12-16-1220. Because South Carolina no longer collects a separate state estate tax, this is generally an informational step that does not create a tax bill.

Is there a fee, and when do I pay it? Yes. After your inventory is accepted, the court calculates a property valuation fee based on the gross value you reported, under South Carolina Code Section 8-21-770, and sends you an invoice. The fee must be paid before the estate can be closed.

What if I find more assets after I file? You file a supplemental inventory to report newly discovered assets, using the same Form 350ES and marking it as supplemental in the caption. This keeps the court record accurate and ensures the additional property is properly accounted for in the estate.