Search York County Probate Records

What Probate Covers in York County

York County Probate Court handles a wide range of matters. It administers the estates of people who have died. It issues marriage licenses. It appoints guardians and conservators. It hears will contests and construction of wills, determines heirs, and approves minor and wrongful-death settlements. It also handles trust matters and the sale of a decedent's real estate when needed for the estate. Involuntary commitments fall under this court too, though those start through mental-health providers rather than a walk-in filing. Probate work is governed by the South Carolina Probate Code; the rules on wills and administration sit in Article 3 of that code.

The probate court is its own county court, led by Probate Judge Carolyn E. Woodruff. It is not a division of Circuit Court. The full text of the probate statutes shows how administration and small-estate procedures work, as seen on the South Carolina Probate Code page.

Those statutes set the framework that the York County Probate Court applies to every estate it opens.

York County Probate Court Contact

The Probate Court is temporarily on the second floor of Moss Justice Center while the Historical Courthouse on South Congress Street stays closed for renovations. Parking is in the main lot in front of the building. Mail still goes to the P.O. Box. The contact card below has the key details.

Note: Estate and guardianship administrations require an appointment because of high volume, so call or email before you visit.

Probate Terms Defined

Probate filings use words you may not run into often. A short glossary clears up the most common ones before you start a search.

Testator

A person who makes a will.

Executor

The person named in a will to carry it out, also called a personal representative.

Intestate

Dying without a valid will, so state law decides who inherits.

Guardianship

A court appointment to make personal-care decisions for a minor or an incapacitated adult.

Conservatorship

A court appointment to manage the money or property of a minor or an adult who cannot.

How to Search York County Probate Records

York County estate records from 1975 to current are online through the South Carolina Probate Search portal. You search by a decedent's name or by case number. The site updates every evening, so a new filing can usually be viewed the day after it is filed. Viewing is free. Printing costs $2 per document through the portal's document-cart system. Name searches must be spelled exactly as the estate record reads, and the portal allows a percent-sign wildcard in front of your search term.

1. Open the South Carolina Probate Search portal and choose York Probate from the county dropdown; pick York Marriage instead for a marriage record.
2. Enter a case number, or a last or business name with first and middle name if known.
3. Click to run the search, then click the gray plus to expand the grid and view case detail.
4. View documents free the day after filing, or print for $2 per document.

If you cannot use the portal, estate files and marriage licenses are available on public computers in the Register of Deeds office at the Government Center, 6 South Congress Street. The search-field layout is shown in the table further down. For broader case lookups outside probate, the court records page covers the statewide Public Index.

Probate Search Fields and Sample Record

The portal uses a small set of fields. Knowing them ahead of time speeds up a York County probate records search. The table lists each one.

A results row returns more than a name. The fields below show what a York County probate record displays once you expand the grid.

• Case Number and Case Name for the estate.
• Party and Type of Case.
• Filing Date, County, and Appointment Date.
• Creditor Claim Due date, a reminder that probate tracks deadlines, not just wills.
• Case Status, plus detail rows after the gray-plus expansion.

The marriage statutes that govern the license side of the court are posted on the state legislature site, shown next.

Marriage licenses appear under the York Marriage category, separate from the estate files described above. See marriage and divorce records for the license process.

How Probate Works in York County

Opening an estate follows a set path. The court appoints a personal representative, who then handles the assets, debts, and distribution. Judge Woodruff holds monthly information sessions on inventory preparation, on the third Wednesday at 10 a.m. at Moss Justice Center. No appointment is needed for those, and people with or without an open estate are welcome. The steps below give the general flow.

1. Call or email the Probate Court for an estate appointment, since all estate and guardianship administrations require one.
2. Confirm the decedent lived in York County or owned property here.
3. Bring the death certificate, the will if there is one, heir and devisee information, asset details, and required forms.
4. The court opens the estate and appoints a personal representative when appropriate.
5. File the inventory and appraisal, then publish creditor notices where required.
6. Resolve claims, sell assets if needed, distribute property, and close the estate.

For a small estate, South Carolina Probate Code summary and affidavit procedures may apply. The current code reflects a $45,000 threshold for small-estate provisions after a 2025 amendment.

York County Probate Fees

The fees that the county confirms center on document access and marriage copies. Probate filing fees are set by state law and scale with estate value, so the court is the place to confirm an exact filing amount for your estate. The table lists the access-side charges.

Payment for marriage matters is by cash, check, or money order. Estate filing fees should be confirmed directly with the court staff for your specific case.

What York County Probate Records Show

An estate file is more than a will. It tracks the whole administration. You may find the will, the appointment of a personal representative, the inventory and appraisal of assets, creditor claims and the claim-due date, accountings, and the final distribution. Marriage records sit in the same portal under a separate county category. Guardianship and conservatorship files show the appointment and the protected person, though medical and incapacity details are often limited.

Because the portal posts documents the day after filing, an estate's paper trail builds in near real time. Still, not every page is scanned, and some older material may need a courthouse visit or a public computer at the Register of Deeds.

Restricted Probate Records

Not all probate matters are open. Involuntary commitment filings are confidential under S.C. Code § 44-22-100, which protects records that identify a mental-health or substance-abuse patient. York Probate directs commitment initiation through Catawba Mental Health Center, Keystone Substance Abuse Center, the Catawba Family Center for minors, or DMH Mobile Crisis after hours. These are not walk-in Probate Court filings. Guardianship and conservatorship files can hold medical or incapacity details that the law or a court order keeps private. Adoption hearings and records are confidential under S.C. Code § 63-9-780, sealed and withheld from inspection except by court order for good cause.

The adoption confidentiality statute is published on the state legislature site, shown below.

So a public estate search will not surface adoption or commitment files, even though the same court handles related matters.

Related York County Records

For marriage and divorce, see marriage and divorce records. Clerk filing info is at Clerk of Court. For broader court files, see court records. For deeds and open-records requests, see public records.