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This is a separate page of general information about South Carolina family law. It is not legal advice. Opening this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.
The five statutory grounds
South Carolina Code section 20-3-10 provides that no divorce shall be granted except upon one or more of the following grounds: adultery; desertion for a period of one year; physical cruelty; habitual drunkenness, including habitual drunkenness caused by the use of any narcotic drug; or the husband and wife having lived separate and apart without cohabitation for a period of one year.
The last ground is commonly called the no-fault ground. The South Carolina Bar’s public family-law materials note that mental abuse or mental cruelty is not, by itself, a ground for divorce in this State.
Residency and timing
A divorce action may be filed only if the statutory residency requirements are met. In general terms, if both spouses are residents of South Carolina, the plaintiff must have resided in the State for at least three months. If the defendant is not a resident, the plaintiff generally must have resided here for at least one year. Confirm the current text of section 20-3-30 for the facts of a particular case.
Even when the grounds are not disputed, South Carolina law requires a waiting period after filing before a final decree may be entered. Counsel should confirm the current waiting-period statute, commonly discussed as three months after the filing of the complaint.
How a divorce action is started
A divorce begins with a summons and complaint. The complaint states the ground or grounds on which the plaintiff seeks a divorce and, where applicable, asks the court to decide custody, visitation, child support, spousal support, and the division of marital property and debt. The other spouse is served and generally has thirty days to answer and to file any counterclaim.
If the only relief sought is a divorce and the parties have already resolved all other issues, the final hearing is often brief. The South Carolina Bar notes that a third-party witness is required to corroborate the testimony that the ground for divorce has been met.
Fault, no-fault, and related claims
A spouse may file for divorce on a fault ground when the facts support it, or may live separate and apart for one year and then proceed on the no-fault ground. Some cases begin as an action for separate maintenance and later add or proceed to a divorce once a ground is available.
Fault can matter beyond the divorce itself. Among other things, adultery may affect a claim for alimony. The court also considers marital misconduct, where relevant, among the statutory factors for dividing marital property. Those consequences depend on the evidence and should not be assumed from a website description.