(a) If a corporation or foreign corporation that owns real property in South Carolina changes its corporate name by amendment of its articles or by merger, share exchange, domestication, conversion, or reorganization, the newly-named, surviving, acquiring, domesticating, converting, or reorganizing corporation must file a notice of that name change in the office of the register of deeds of the county in South Carolina in which the real property is located. If there is no office in that county, a notice of name change must be filed with the clerk of court of the county in which that real property is located.

(b) The filing must be by:

(1) affidavit executed in accordance with the provisions of Section 33-1-200 and containing the old and new names of the corporation and describing the real property owned by that corporation; or

(2) filing a certified copy of the amended articles, articles of merger, articles of conversion, articles of domestication, or articles of share exchange accompanied by a description of the real property; or

(3) a duly recorded deed of conveyance to the newly-named surviving, acquiring, domesticating, converting, or reorganizing corporation.

(c) The affidavit or filed articles must be duly indexed in the index of deeds.

(d) The purpose of this section is to establish record notice under Chapter 7 of Title 30. Failure to make the required filing of a corporate name change will not affect the legality, force, effect, or enforceability as between the parties of any conveyance or other transaction involving the real estate owned by the affected corporation that is made subsequent to the change in name.

HISTORY: Derived from 1976 Code Section 33-1-60 [1962 Code Section 12-11.6; 1962 (52) 1996; 1963 (53) 327; 1964 (53) 1910; 1968 (55) 3046; 1970 (56) 1932; 1981 Act No. 146, Section 2; Repealed, 1988 Act No. 444, Section 2]; 1988 Act No. 444, Section 2; 2004 Act No. 221, Section 12.