How Do We Prove the No Fault Divorce Ground: Continuous Separation for Over 1 Year

Question: My wife and I have lived apart for over ten months but the first 6 months she lived with her mother, the last four months she has owned her own home.  We both want a simple divorce, how do we account for the first 6 months of separation?Answer: The South Carolina Code of Laws sets forth five grounds for divorce in South Carolina in §20-3-10.  Sub-paragraph (5) is the provision for the no-fault ground as follows, "on the application of either party if and when the husband and wife have lived separate and apart without cohabitation for a period of one year."The law essentially only requires living apart from one another for greater than one year.  Our appellate courts have identified some things that do not qualify as living "separate and apart" such as one spouse moving out of the marital bedroom and sleeping in the basement or the couch in the den.  Likewise, living in an RV in the backyard would also not be living separate and apart.Your case is different.  You did separate and your wife moved into her mother's home for the first six months of separation and later she purchased a home of her own.In a hearing for divorce on this ground the evidence is typically the testimony of a witness who has a good relationship with one or both of the parties who can corroborate that you have lived apart for more than one year and have not resumed cohabitation during that time.  So, in your case, perhaps her mother could testify that your wife moved in with her for six months and then moved into her own home.  She could go on to testify that when your wife moved out of her home she moved into a new home of her own and she keeps up with her daughter on a regular basis and is confident that the two of you have not resumed cohabitation.

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus: Is an Eyewitness Necessary to Prove Adultery in South Carolina?

To obtain a divorce on adultery grounds you will need more evidence than telephone records and e-mails.  But, you don’t need an explicit sex tape, a pregnancy, or an eyewitness to prove your case for adultery.In Prevatte v. Prevatte (297 SC 345), our Court stated, “Because adultery, by its very nature, is an activity which takes place in private, it may be proved by circumstantial evidence.”Sufficient proof of adultery must establish that your spouse had motive and opportunity to have an affair.  Proof of motive shows there is a romantic relationship your spouse is involved in.  Proof of a date with another person, holding hands while walking through the park, telephone records showing numerous calls and text messages to one another.  That’s motive.Opportunity is where your spouse and his/her new “friend” are together, privately, in a place where they have a chance to consummate the affair.

Where can I find an Uncontested Divorce?

People want to know about uncontested divorces.  They want to know if there are ways they can file the paperwork themselves because they are wanting to get through the divorce process without spending an arm and a leg on legal fees much less on paying support and alimony.An uncontested divorce means that there is nothing to contest, nada, zilch, zip, zero.  But what a good divorce lawyer can help you with is identifying things that you may assume or not even think of at all which complicate your divorce more than you expected.  Many times, people will complain that the lawyer is just stirring up the pot so he/she can bill more fees.  But, I disagree.  The lawyer has studied and trained in the law.  It is their job in advising their client to help them apply the law and facts of the case in the best light for the client.  They are also required to to advise the client of their rights.  This is not the lawyer's life or case - it belongs to the client.  How can the client make a good, rational, well-thought out and considerate decision without knowing what their rights are under the law.  So when lawyers are accused of stirring things up, they are really trying to advise their clients of their rights under the law.Back to uncontested divorces.  There are really only a handful of issues in a divorce or family law case.  Typically, the issues are grounds for divorce, custody of minor children, support of minor children, visitation with the minor children for the non-custodial parent, division of marital assets and debts, and spousal support.  There are some other issues and there are many nuances to the issues above, but very simply, it breaks down like stated above.  A typical divorce that would be considered "uncontested" in South Carolina is when the grounds are the no-fault ground for divorce (one year separation), when there are no assets or debts to be divided, neither party is seeking any support from the other and there are no children of the marriage.  If there is even one hitch or issue, then the case is not "uncontested."