Subcommittee advances bill to treat cooperative patronage capital as probate accounts

The Domestic Relations Business and Probate Law Subcommittee voted unanimously to give House Bill 3,914 a favorable report. The bill would amend the South Carolina Probate Code to expressly include patronage capital accounts held by members of electric or telephone cooperatives within the statute's definition of an "account." If enacted the measure would take effect July 1, 2025.

Patronage capital accounts reflect a cooperative member's share of surplus earnings allocated annually based on payments for services or capital contributions. Under current law those accounts are not explicitly treated as financial accounts for probate purposes; the bill clarifies that such accounts should be governed by the probate code's rules for accounts, affecting whether funds pass by survivorship or into a decedent's estate.

Committee members said the change is aimed at avoiding unnecessary probate proceedings for small cooperative distributions. A member described a situation relayed by Representative Bailey in which a decedent's only cooperative payment consisted of a $67 check; under current practice that item could trigger opening a probate estate to transfer the funds. Representative Paula Calhoun said she had spoken with the Richland County probate judge, who "didn't see any issues with this."

The subcommittee ordered a roll call on the bill; Representatives Bernstein, Paula Calhoun, Val Gass, John King and David Martin all voted "aye," yielding a 5–0 favorable report. The transcript does not include the full statutory text; committee members limited discussion to the bill's intent and the stated effective date.