Heirs are the people who take the assets when there is no Will, the state determines who that will be. Devisees are the people to take the assets under a Will. Successors are those persons to whom assets are appropriately distributed, either heirs or devisees. Certain assets, which once belonged the deceased person, are appropriately applied toward the deceased person's taxes, debts, final expenses such as medical bills and funeral costs and expenses of the estate. Only then is the balance distributed to the decedent's successors.
Probate is a public record of the final financial affairs of the deceased person.
Proceedings may be either informal or formal. Informal proceedings do no require court hearings unless requested. In contrast to that, every detail of a formal administration is closely supervised by the probate court by way of notice to all interested parties and hearings. There are two types of Informal Probate estates in South Carolina. Like the word tomato, pronunciation is by preference.