SOUTH CAROLINA LEGAL INFORMATION

Witnesses: South Carolina law requires two individuals witness the signature of the maker;

Who may be a witness? South Carolina law provides the following regarding witnesses to living wills:

* * *
(2) which has been dated and signed by the declarant in the presence of an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws of the state where the signing occurs and in the presence of two witnesses, one of whom may be the officer authorized to administer oaths, who state in an affidavit as set forth in Section 44-77-50 that, to the extent they have knowledge of their status, they are not related to the declarant by blood, marriage, or adoption, either as a spouse, lineal ancestor, descendant of the parents of the declarant, or spouse of any of them, not directly financially responsible for the person's medical care, not entitled to a portion of the estate of the declarant upon his decease under a will of the declarant then existing or as an heir by intestate succession, and not a beneficiary of a life insurance policy of the declarant, and who state that no more than one witness is an employee of a health facility in which the declarant is a patient and that no witness to the declaration is the attending physician or an employee of the attending physician or a person who has a claim against a portion of the estate of the declarant upon his decease at the time of the execution of the declaration;
(3) which, if the declarant is a patient in a hospital or a resident in a nursing care facility at the time the declaration is executed, has been witnessed by an ombudsman as designated by the State Ombudsman, Office of the Governor, with the ombudsman acting as one of the two witnesses and having the same qualifications as a witness as provided in this section. The intent of this item is to recognize that some residents in nursing care facilities may be so insulated from a voluntary decision-making role, by virtue of the custodial nature of their care, as to require special assurance that they are capable of wilfully and voluntarily executing a declaration.

South Carolina Code Section 44-77-40.

Notary: South Carolina law requires that a living will be notarized;

Must health care agent sign form? No requirement that health care agent sign form;

South Carolina Statutes containing living will requirements: South Carolina Code Section 44-77-10, et al.
Information concerning Living Wills and Medical Powers of Attorney from the South Carolina Lt. Governor's office..

Brought to you by MedLawPlus.com® -- Online form: Living Will Price: $8.99 (free trial)

---

Library of Informational Legal Articles

• How to write a Last Will
• How to write a Durable Power of Attorney
• Power of Attorney Execution and Contractual Capacity
• How to write a Living Will
• Step-by-step instructions for LLC Formation in all states
• Step-by-step instructions for Corporate Formation in all states
• How to Choose a Business Entity
• How to write Confidentiality and Non-compete agreements
• The HIPAA Privacy Rule: Contracts for "Business Associates" of "Covered Entites"
• Divorce Laws of US States
• Shopping for a personal injury lawyer

DISCLAIMER The above is provided for informational purposes only and is NOT to be relied upon as legal advice. This service is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney and we encourage users to have all documents created on our site reviewed by an attorney. No attorney-client relationship is established by use of our online legal forms system and the user is not to rely upon any information found anywhere on our site. THESE FORMS ARE SOLD ON AN "AS IS" BASIS WITH NO WARRANTIES OR GUARANTIES. If you wish personal assistance in deciding whether the document found on our site is right for you or desire representations and warranties upon the legality of the document you are purchasing in the jurisdiction you will be using it, contact an attorney licensed to practice law in your state.