Property Division

In general terms, marital property is real or personal property acquired during the marriage, regardless of how title is held, unless a statutory exception applies. Nonmarital property commonly includes property acquired before the marriage, property acquired by gift from a third party, and property acquired by inheritance, unless the receiving spouse has transmuted it into marital property—for example, by placing real estate in both names or otherwise treating it as shared.

Retirement accounts, pensions, businesses, and the marital home are frequently among the assets that must be identified, valued, and apportioned. Marital debt is likewise subject to equitable division.

South Carolina is not a community-property state. Section 20-3-620 directs the court to make a final equitable apportionment and to give weight, in such proportion as the court finds appropriate, to the statutory factors. Those factors include the duration of the marriage; marital misconduct or fault when it affected economic circumstances or contributed to the breakup of the marriage; the value of the marital property; each spouse’s contribution to the acquisition, preservation, depreciation, or appreciation of marital property, including the contribution of a homemaker; the income and earning potential of each spouse; the health of each spouse; each spouse’s need for additional training or education; vested retirement benefits; whether alimony has been awarded; the desirability of awarding the family home, or the right to live in it for a reasonable period, to the spouse with custody of children; tax consequences; prior support obligations; liens and other encumbrances; custody arrangements; and such other factors as the court expressly finds to be relevant and proper.

A temporary order may allow one spouse to remain in the home or to use a particular vehicle while the case is pending. That arrangement is not necessarily the final division. Valuations, appraisals, and, in some cases, business or retirement analysis may be needed before a complete marital balance sheet can be presented to the court.

Many property cases resolve by written agreement. The court reviews an agreement to determine whether it is fair and whether it complies with South Carolina law. If the parties cannot agree, the judge decides after hearing the evidence.