South Carolina Family Law

South Carolina laws are created and revised by the actions of lawmakers and the courts, as in other states. Click on the links below to learn more information.

1.State statute	South Carolina Statute
2. Fault or no-fault (typically when a state allows fault based and no-fault divorce, fault based divorces require no separation period.
3. Equitable distribution or community property	Equitable Distribution
a. Methods of apportionment
i. Periera and Van Camp in CA
b. Property distribution factors
4. Legal separation?	South Carolina does not recognize “legal separation.”  Instead, the South Carolina Family Courts issue Orders of Separate Maintenance and Support, which provide specific details regarding parties’ child custody, visitation, and support arrangements, as well as maintaining marital assets and paying marital debts, until the case is resolved at a final hearing or trial.
a. Waiting period/Separation period	1 year
5. Is mediation required
6. Forms used
7. Alimony guidelines and factors	Alimony guidelines
Alimony formula
a. Types
b. Term Limits
Cohabitation	Automatic or Judge's discretion as to whether alimony terminates
c. Imputing income	"Automatic modification OR At court’s discretion, alimony terminates upon the remarriage or continued cohabitation of the supported spouse SC ST § 20-3-150"
d. Change in circumstances
e. Ceases on retirement	Hearing upon retirement to determine whether change in circumstances.  See section 20-3-170
Impute income on early retirement
Early retirement for health reasons is involuntary
f. Definition of income	H.B. 4738, 119th Sess. General Assembly, 2d Reg. Sess. (S.C. 2011).
8. Child support factors and guidelines
9. Child support calculator
10. Lump Sum  Support allowed?	Allowed - Code of Laws Section 20-3-130
11. Valuation
a. Valuation date	Trial
b. Goodwill divisibility	Goodwill never divisible - Donahue v. Donahue, 299 S.C. 353, 384 S.E.2d 741 (1989).
c. Standard of value	Fair market value
d. Discounts	Yes
e. Shareholder/partner agreements
12. Double dip	Impermissible double dip, occurs with personal and enterprise goodwill, therefore all is excluded from marital estate.
a. Stock options
b. Retirement accounts
c. Child support	Child Support
13. Key cases
14. Premarital agreements
15. Common law	Case law over the last 40 years best defines common law marriage in South Carolina.  The short answer to this question, however, is: That the parties believed that they were essentially married, and demonstrated this belief both privately and publicly. Or that the parties were eligible to be married.

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