Documents: Margaret Murdaugh estate appraised at over $4M

COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – Documents filed in the Colleton County probate court appraise the value of Margaret Murdaugh’s estate to be $4,271,557.77.

The estate is one of the many pieces at the center of a controversy surrounding her embattled husband, Alex Murdaugh, who has been indicted on a litany of financial crimes. Murdaugh is currently accused of trying to divest his claim to Margaret’s estate to deflate the value of his assets in an effort to reduce the payouts to his alleged victims.

Of note, the appraisal lists no life insurance payout to either the estate or a beneficiary for Margaret.

According to the appraisal, the bulk of Margaret’s value is in her real estate holdings, which are estimated to be worth $4.16M total. 12 properties total are listed, all but one of which are entirely in Margaret’s name. All of the listed real estate holdings are classified as encumbered by mortgage loans with Palmetto State Bank. The total value of the encumbrances is estimated to be $2,178,669.57.

Four cars in Margaret’s name are valued at $111,500.

Margaret is listed as a joint-owner of three bank accounts at Palmetto State Bank, including:

• 50% of an account shared with Alex Murdaugh, her share of which came out to $2,600.33
• 50% of an account shared with her son, Buster Murdaugh, her share of which came out to $8.48
• 33.33% of an account shared with Alex and Buster Murdaugh, her share of which came out to $1,545.33

The only account listed as Margaret’s alone is a Bank of America checking account valued at $57.77. It is unclear whether the account was frozen immediately after her death, or if money was taken out of the account after she died.