Upon the death of a person who is or has been a patient or trainee of a State mental health facility the executor or administrator and the judge of probate shall notify the Office of Mental Health in writing. If the decedent was cared for at the expense of the State during his confinement, the Office of Mental Health shall present a claim for the amount due, and this claim shall be allowed and paid as other lawful claims against the estate. The Office of Mental Health may waive the presentation of any claim when, in its opinion, an otherwise dependent person would be directly benefited by waiver.

HISTORY: 1962 Code SECTION 32-1027; 1952 Code SECTION 32-975; 1942 Code SECTION 6249-4; 1932 Code SECTION 2013; Cr. C. '22 SECTION 997; 1915 (29) 132; 1941 (42) 272; 1952 (47) 2042.

Code Commissioner's Note

At the direction of the Code Commissioner, certain references in the S.C. Code to the State Department of Mental Health, South Carolina Mental Health Commission, Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, Department of Disabilities and Special Needs Commission, Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, and other related terms were changed to reflect the restructuring of these agencies into component offices under the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, pursuant to 2025 Act No. 3, SECTION 18.