The director of a state mental health facility must not accept service of legal papers, or consent to the appointment of a guardian ad litem, for any patient. When a legal paper is served on a patient in a facility, a copy of the legal paper must be filed with the director who shall cause it to be made a part of the permanent record of the patient. The director immediately, in writing, shall inform the court, out of which the process issued, of the date of service of the process, the procedure under which the patient was admitted to the facility, and the present mental and physical condition of the person.
S.C. Code § 15-9-510