South Carolina § 62-1-401 - Notice; method and time of giving.

§ 62-1-401. Notice; method and time of giving.

(a) If notice of a hearing on a petition is required and, except for specific notice requirements as otherwise provided, the petitioner shall cause notice of the time and place of hearing of a petition to be given to any interested person or his attorney if he has appeared by attorney or requested that notice be sent to his attorney. Notice must be given:

(1) by mailing a copy of the notice at least twenty days before the time set for the hearing by certified, registered, or ordinary first class mail, or by a commercial delivery service that meets the requirements to be considered a designated delivery service in accordance with 26 U.S.C. Section 7502(f)(2) addressed to the person being notified at the post office address given in his demand for notice, if any, or at his office or place of residence, if known;

(2) by delivering a copy of the notice to the person being notified personally at least twenty days before the time set for the hearing; or

(3) if the address or identity of any person is not known and cannot be ascertained with reasonable diligence by publishing a copy of the notice in the same manner as required by law in the case of the publication of a summons for an absent defendant in the court of common pleas.

(b) The court for good cause shown may provide for a different method or time of giving notice for any hearing.

(c) Proof of the giving of notice shall be made on or before the hearing and filed in the proceeding.

(d) Notwithstanding a provision to the contrary, the notice provisions in this section do not, and are not intended to, constitute a summons that is required for a petition.

HISTORY: 1986 Act No. 539, SECTION 1; 2010 Act No. 244, SECTION 3, eff June 7, 2010; 2013 Act No. 100, SECTION 1, eff January 1, 2014; 2017 Act No. 87 (S.415), SECTION 4, eff January 1, 2019.

Editor's Note

2017 Act No. 87, SECTION 6, provides as follows:

"(A) This act takes effect on January 1, 2019.

"(B) Except as otherwise provided in this act, on the effective date of this act:

"(1) this act applies to any conservatorships, guardianships, or protective orders for minors or persons under a disability created before, on, or after its effective date;

"(2) this act applies to all judicial proceedings concerning conservatorships, guardianships, or protective orders for minors or persons under a disability commenced on or after its effective date;

"(3) this act applies to judicial proceedings concerning conservatorships, guardianships, and protective orders for minors or persons under a disability commenced before its effective date unless the court finds that application of a particular provision of this act would substantially interfere with the effective conduct of the judicial proceedings or prejudice the rights of the parties, in which case that particular provision of this act does not apply and the superseded law applies;

"(4) subject to item (B)(5) and subsection (C) of this SECTION, any rule of construction or presumption provided in this act applies to governing instruments executed before the effective date of this act unless there is a clear indication of a contrary intent in the terms of the governing instrument; and

"(5) an act done and any right acquired or accrued before the effective date of the act is not affected by this act.

"(C) If a right is acquired, extinguished, or barred upon the expiration of a prescribed period that has commenced to run under any other statute before the effective date of the act, that statute continues to apply to the right even if it has been repealed or suspended."