(A) Unless a contrary intent appears in the will, if a devisee, who is a great-grandparent or a lineal descendant of a great-grandparent of the testator is dead at the time of execution of the will, fails to survive the testator, or is treated as if he predeceased the testator, the issue of the deceased devisee who survive the testator take in place of the deceased devisee and if they are all of the same degree of kinship to the devisee they take equally, but if of unequal degree than those of more remote degree take by representation. (B) One who would have been a devisee under a class gift if he had survived the testator is treated as a devisee for purposes of this section whether his death occurred before or after the execution of the will. (C) Words of survivorship in a devise to an individual, such as, 'if he survives me,' or to 'my surviving children,' are, in the absence of additional evidence, a sufficient indication of an intent contrary to the application of subsections (A) and (B). HISTORY: 1986 Act No. 539, Section 1; 2013 Act No. 100, Section 1, eff January 1, 2014.
South Carolina Legal Code