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Subcommittee clarifies treatment of cooperative patronage capital in probate code; bill set to take effect July 1, 2025
Summary
House Bill 3,914 would add patronage capital accounts held by electric and telephone cooperative members to the probate code definition of "account," clarifying how those funds pass on death. The subcommittee issued a favorable report, 5-0; the bill would take effect July 1, 2025 if enacted.
The Domestic Relations, Business and Probate Law Subcommittee issued a favorable report on House Bill 3,914, which would amend the South Carolina Probate Code to include patronage capital accounts held by members of electric or telephone cooperatives in the statutory definition of an "account."
Under the bill, patronage capital accounts—allocations of a cooperative member’s share of surplus earnings, generally tied to payments for services or capital contributions—would be explicitly treated as accounts for probate purposes. The change would clarify whether such funds pass directly to surviving co-owners where survivorship language applies, or otherwise into the decedent’s estate under probate rules.
The bill text specifies an effective date of July 1, 2025, if enacted. A committee member described a practical example that motivated the proposal: in one recounted case a decedent’s only instrument payable by an entity was a $67 check that otherwise would have required opening a probate estate. The member said the amendment would spare heirs from formal probate for small cooperative-account amounts.
A roll-call vote was ordered; Representatives Bernstein, Calhoun, Guest, King and Martin voted aye. With a vote of 5 in favor and none against, House Bill 3,914 received a favorable report from the subcommittee.
The subcommittee did not take additional implementation actions; the bill proceeds to the next stage of the legislative process.
