How Do I File for Divorce in South Carolina?

Sometimes people ask, “How do I file for divorce in South Carolina?” In South Carolina, when you represent yourself in family court without a lawyer, you are called a “pro se” (without an attorney) party. Pro se is a Latin term that means “in person” or “on one’s own behalf.”

Filing for a divorce in South Carolina is not an easy process, so our family law attorneys wrote this article to explain the process of getting a divorce without hiring a lawyer, and when doing so is a bad idea. So how do I file for divorce in South Carolina?

Quick Answer: To file for divorce in South Carolina, you generally complete a family court cover sheet, summons, and complaint, file them with the Clerk of Family Court in the proper county, pay the filing fee, and serve your spouse, who generally has 30 days after service to respond. You must also meet the residency requirement and prove a ground for divorce. You can represent yourself, but it is risky if your case involves fault, substantial property, or disputed custody.

What Are the Requirements to File for Divorce in South Carolina?

Before you file, you must meet South Carolina’s residency requirement. If only one spouse lives in South Carolina, that spouse must have lived here for at least one year before filing. If both spouses live in South Carolina when you file, the spouse filing for divorce must have lived here for at least three months. If your spouse lives in another state, our article on divorcing a spouse who lives out of state explains the additional issues.

You must also prove one of five grounds for divorce. The following table summarizes them, and our article on grounds for divorce in South Carolina explains each one in detail:

For a divorce based on adultery, physical cruelty, or habitual drunkenness, the family court cannot grant a final divorce decree until three months after the complaint is filed. For a divorce based on one year of separation or desertion, the hearing may be held, and the decree issued after the responsive pleadings have been filed or the defendant has been adjudged in default, whichever occurs sooner.

What Forms Do I Need to File for a Divorce in South Carolina?

The first step in answering the question of “How do I file for divorce in South Carolina?” begins with filling out several divorce forms, including:

1. A Family Court Cover Sheet – The Cover Sheet tells the family court what issues are involved, such as requests for custody, child support, or alimony.
2. A Summons for Divorce – A Summons informs your spouse that you have started a divorce case and generally gives your spouse 30 days after service to respond to the Complaint for Divorce.
3. A Complaint for Divorce – A Complaint for Divorce notifies the court and your spouse that you want a divorce, the grounds (reasons) for the divorce, and other relief you are seeking, such as alimony, child support, and custody.
4. A Financial Declaration Form – A Financial Declaration is basically a statement of your income, expenses, and assets. When your financial condition is relevant to the case, you must serve and file a current financial declaration before or at the first hearing or within 45 days after the complaint is served, whichever comes first.

Make copies of all of these forms. The clerk of court will keep one set of copies, and you’ll need copies for your records and to serve on your spouse, as required. You can find examples of all of these forms on South Carolina’s Judicial Branch website.

Where Do I File For a Divorce in South Carolina?

The second step in answering “How do I file for divorce in South Carolina?” is to file the papers with the Clerk of Family Court. Under S.C. Code § 20-3-60, the proper county is:

1. The county where your spouse lives when the case begins;
2. The county where you live if your spouse does not live in South Carolina or cannot be found after due diligence; or
3. The county where you and your spouse last lived together as husband and wife, unless you do not live in South Carolina. If you live out of state, you must file in the county where your spouse lives.

The Clerk of Family Court will charge you a filing fee. If you can’t afford the filing fee, you can file a Motion and Affidavit to Proceed In Forma Pauperis. In Forma Pauperis is a Latin term that means “in the manner of a pauper.” This motion is a sworn statement that you cannot afford the applicable costs and asks the court to allow you to proceed without prepaying them, including any applicable service fees.

How Do I Serve Divorce Papers in South Carolina?

The third step in answering the question, “How do I file for divorce in South Carolina?” is serving (delivering) the summons and complaint after you file the paperwork. Serving papers is also known as “service of process.” Service of process lets your spouse know you are suing them for a divorce. In South Carolina, ways to serve your spouse include:

1. Deliver the documents yourself if your spouse will sign a written “Acceptance of Service” stating the place and date service is accepted.
2. Have a sheriff, deputy, or another person who is 18 or older and not a party or an attorney in the case deliver the summons and complaint to your spouse.
3. Send the summons and complaint to your spouse by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, with delivery restricted to your spouse. Service is effective on the date of delivery shown on the return receipt.

After you serve your spouse, promptly file proof of service or the signed Acceptance of Service with the clerk of court’s office. When someone other than the sheriff or a deputy makes personal service, that person must make an affidavit of service; for service by certified mail, the proof must include the return receipt or returned envelope when received.

Proof of service, or Acceptance of Service, lets the family court know your spouse received proper notice of your divorce lawsuit.

When Should You Not Represent Yourself in a Divorce?

We don’t recommend that anyone represent themselves in their divorce without a lawyer if:

1. You are filing for a divorce on fault-based grounds such as adultery, physical cruelty, or habitual drunkenness;
2. You have substantial marital property or marital debt; or
3. You have children, but you and your spouse can’t agree on custody, visitation, or child support.

If you and your spouse agree on everything, our article on uncontested divorce in South Carolina explains how that process works.

How Do I Represent Myself in a South Carolina Divorce?

If you’re looking for an answer to the question, “How do I file for divorce in South Carolina,” you may be considering representing yourself without a divorce lawyer. As we mentioned above, representing yourself in your divorce is far from easy. If you choose to handle your own divorce in South Carolina, then the following ten tips are critical before you divorce without a lawyer:

1) Leave Your Emotions Outside the Courthouse – As the old saying goes, “he who represents himself has a fool for a client.” Part of the reason for this saying is that when you are emotionally involved with your divorce (and you will be), your judgment may be clouded by your emotions.

Judges don’t like drama in their courtrooms. They expect logic, sound legal reasoning, and professionalism. Your emotions can also get in the way of meaningful negotiations to settle your divorce.

2) Be Organized – If you’re going to act on your own in family court, you must be highly organized. For example, place documents such as financial records, court documents, and correspondence with your spouse’s attorney in a folder or binder, organized so you can easily access them (especially when you are standing before a busy judge).

Also, when you come to court, bring enough copies of anything you intend to submit to the court for the judge, the other side, yourself, and any witness who may need to review it. Check the court’s requirements before your hearing.

3) Be Familiar with Your Case – If you represent yourself, you need to understand your case well enough to explain it to the family court in a concise and sensible way. Judges lose their patience when people ramble, vent, are unprepared, or muddy the issues before the court. Overall, you must know who, what, when, where, and why and present those facts in an orderly manner.

4) Be Familiar with Court Procedures – Although the South Carolina Judicial website contains divorce forms, having the right forms isn’t enough. You also need to familiarize yourself with the South Carolina Family Court Rules and the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure, which are also on the website.

Don’t try to learn court procedures the night before court. Lawyers spend their entire first year of law school studying the rules of procedure, and for the rest of their careers, they read case law and interpret those rules.

You have to know the timing and proper format of court documents, how to file your divorce, serve it on your spouse, record service at the clerk’s office, request hearings, answer discovery requests such as interrogatories and requests to produce, conduct depositions, and more.

Additionally, you need to be familiar with how to conduct yourself in court, such as not interrupting the other lawyer when it is their turn to speak, not addressing another lawyer directly (always talk to the judge), how to ask proper questions of witnesses (you generally can’t “lead” your own witnesses on direct examination), and much more.

5) Be Familiar with the South Carolina Rules of Evidence – Here, things can get more complicated than court procedures. Like the rules of procedure, lawyers spend their entire careers studying the rules of evidence and the latest court opinions interpreting those rules. The rules of evidence deal with issues such as hearsay testimony, proper authentication, the foundation for introducing documents and evidence, and much more.

For example, suppose you want to introduce evidence that you need alimony from your spouse because you’re disabled. The evidence consists of a letter from your doctor stating that you are disabled. The court may exclude that letter as hearsay or for lack of proper authentication unless you establish a basis for admitting it. Your doctor does not necessarily have to appear in court, but you cannot assume that the letter alone will be admitted to prove your disability.

Likewise, you must know enough about the rules of evidence to object when your spouse’s lawyer tries to slip evidence in that the court shouldn’t consider.

6) Be Familiar with South Carolina Family Law – Again, lawyers spend their entire career staying on top of ever-changing laws regarding the issues in family court. Whether you agree with the law or feel that some laws are “unfair,” the family court must apply the law to the facts of your case.

Further, understanding the law and possible outcomes will prepare you to negotiate a settlement. If you insist upon things that have no basis in the law, such as wanting all of the marital assets because your spouse cheated on you, then you will get nowhere in negotiations and likewise nowhere in court.

7) Prepare Yourself to Speak Before the Court – Some folks are good at public speaking, and many others aren’t. If you have trouble speaking in public, you won’t find it any easier to speak to a judge sitting high on the bench in a courtroom. Some judges are very friendly, and some appear less so. Even for some lawyers, dealing with an irate judge can be intimidating.

If you have a presentation, practice it before you go to court. However, be prepared for the judge to interrupt you with questions or for the other lawyer to object. In the end, you have to think quickly on your feet, answer the court’s questions, and do both in a convincing, clear way.

8) Be Prepared for Bad Rulings – Judges are human, and yes, they do make mistakes. That is why we have appeals, which allow a higher court to review certain errors. We’ve been in front of many judges we believe made a bad call. If you are going to represent yourself, you need to be prepared to lose.

If you get a bad ruling, the worst thing you can do is start arguing with the judge. Once a judge has ruled, continuing to argue will get you nowhere but into trouble. Depending on the ruling, you may have other avenues to challenge it, such as a post-trial motion or an appeal, but you must comply with the applicable deadlines.

9) Be Patient – There is no such thing as a “quickie” divorce in South Carolina. In family court or not, lawsuits take time. Trying to rush your divorce will likely lead to a bad outcome. For more information, please read our article on how long it takes to get divorced in South Carolina.

10) Know Who You Are Up Against – By appearing before family court judges for decades, we’ve learned how these judges work, including their likes and dislikes, how they expect people to behave in their courtroom, and how they are likely to rule on certain issues. This kind of experience isn’t something a pro se litigant can get from a book or somewhere online.

If you know a family court lawyer willing to share their experiences with a particular judge, it wouldn’t hurt to ask for their help. What is true for judges is also true for dealing with other lawyers. We’ve learned which lawyers are “problem solvers” and which ones tend to create more problems.

We’ve learned which ones are trustworthy and fair and which will bend the rules and procedures as far as possible to “win.” Again, it wouldn’t hurt to ask a family lawyer you may know to share their experience with other lawyers that you may find yourself going up against.

Should You Hire a Lawyer to File for Divorce in South Carolina?

Of course, it sounds self-serving to say you should never represent yourself in family court. After all, we make our living by representing people who are divorcing. However, there’s a good reason we say you shouldn’t go through your divorce alone. Although family law isn’t rocket science, it’s far more complicated than just filling out some forms and showing up to court.

If you decide to handle your own divorce, we sincerely wish you success. But if you are having second thoughts about whether going “pro se” is a good idea, please contact us to review your case. We won’t try to talk you out of representing yourself – that’s your business. We’ll answer your questions and give you solid advice on how to handle your case. Our article on how to choose the best divorce lawyer in Charleston explains what to look for.

For a deeper look at the South Carolina divorce process, download our free book on divorce in South Carolina. It is available as a PDF or on Apple Books at no cost.

The attorneys at Futeral & Nelson have represented clients in divorce cases in Charleston, Mount Pleasant, North Charleston, Summerville, and throughout the Lowcountry since 2003. Call us at 843-284-5500 to discuss your case and your options.