## Facts

- Pinkie M. Geddings married Marvin Thomas Geddings in 1979; both had children from prior marriages.
- In 1988, Pinkie signed a written “Waiver of Right to Elect and of Other Rights.”
- The waiver stated each spouse wanted most property to pass to his or her own children and disclaimed any interest in the other’s estate except as provided in the will admitted to probate.
- The waiver recited that the spouses had made a “full, fair and complete disclosure” of all presently owned assets.
- After Marvin’s death, Pinkie filed in probate court to claim a statutory elective share of his probate estate.
- Marvin’s children opposed the claim, asserting Pinkie’s waiver barred any elective share.
- Evidence showed Marvin was secretive about finances, Pinkie was excluded from business meetings held at their home, and the drafting attorney did not provide Pinkie an itemization or meaningful explanation of Marvin’s assets.

## Issues

1. Whether an objection under South Carolina’s Dead Man’s Statute was preserved for appeal when no such objection was made at the probate hearing.
2. Whether the written waiver was effective under S.C. Code Ann. § 62-2-204, which permits waiver of the elective share only if executed “after fair disclosure.”

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of South Carolina affirmed the circuit court’s affirmance of the probate court.
- The court refused to consider the Dead Man’s Statute argument because the children did not object on that ground in the probate court.
- The court held the waiver invalid because Pinkie did not receive “fair disclosure” of Marvin’s assets before signing, as required by § 62-2-204.
- Because the waiver failed, Pinkie remained entitled to claim an elective share under § 62-2-201.

## Legal Principles

- Appellate review is limited to issues preserved in the trial court; a party who fails to raise a Dead Man’s Statute objection at trial cannot assert it on appeal.
- A surviving spouse’s statutory elective share may be waived only by a written agreement executed “after fair disclosure” under S.C. Code Ann. § 62-2-204.
- “Fair disclosure” requires actual, substantive disclosure or sufficiently reliable independent knowledge of the nature and extent of the other spouse’s assets to permit an informed relinquishment of statutory rights.
- A contractual recital that “full, fair and complete disclosure” occurred is not conclusive; courts may look to the surrounding circumstances and evidence to determine whether disclosure in fact occurred.
- Whether fair disclosure occurred is largely a factual determination, and supported probate fact findings will be upheld on appeal.

## Conclusion

The court affirmed an elective-share award to the surviving spouse, holding that a written waiver was ineffective without proof of actual “fair disclosure” of the decedent’s assets, and it declined to consider a Dead Man’s Statute challenge that was not raised in the probate court.


Geddings v. Geddings, 319 S.C. 213, 460 S.E.2d 376 (S.C. 1995)