How Long Do I Have to Live in South Carolina to Obtain a Divorce

In order to get a divorce in South Carolina, the South Carolina family court must have jurisdiction over the parties to be able to hear the case.  In order for the court to have personal jurisdiction at least one of the following conditions must be met:

1. If both of the parties are residents of South Carolina, then the plaintiff must have resided in South Carolina for more than three months.
2. If the defendant is a resident of South Carolina, but the plaintiff is not, the defendant must have been a resident of South Carolina for more than one year prior to filing the complaint.
3. If plaintiff is a resident of South Carolina, but defendant is not, plaintiff must have resided in South Carolina for more than one year prior to filing the complaint for divorce.

Just to clarify, the plaintiff is what the court refers to as the person who has filed the divorce action.  The defendant is what the court will refer to as the person who is being sued for divorce.  So, bottom line, if you have been a resident of South Carolina for at least one year you will be able to file for divorce in South Carolina.

One Year Divorce: When Does the Time Start?

Question: I want to get a divorce from my spouse, but I do not have a ground for divorce.  Do I have to file for legal separation to start the clock running on the one year separation?Answer: I'm sorry you and your spouse are facing divorce.  In order to get a divorce on the no fault ground for divorce in South Carolina, more than one year's separation, you and your spouse must live in separate residences.  In order to start the clock running on your one year separation you or your spouse do not have to file for a legal separation.  You only have to live in separate residences.  Now, some people want to just move down the hall and stay in another bedroom.  But, this won't work in South Carolina.  You must actually live in separate residences.

Can You Guarantee Me a Fast Divorce?

I'm asked a lot by prospective clients if I can guarantee them a fast divorce.  The truth is that there are way too many factors that go into determining how long your case is going to be to that I just can't guarantee that it will be done within a certain amount of time.  However, based on my exerience handling similar cases in the past, I should be able to give you a good approximation of how long it will take your case to be resolved.Some of the factors that determine how long it will take to resolve your divorce case in South Carolina are:

1. The contested issues in your case.  How many there are and what type of issues are they?  Are we fighting only about child support or are custody, visitation, and alimony also at issue?  Perhaps you and your spouse have already reached a complete agreement about how things will be resolved between you.
2. What county are you filing in?  Some counties are pretty fast about moving cases through, others are not.  This is a factor of the backlog of cases and the number of family court judges in each particular county.  Some cases can be done is about 60 days in one county and over 6 months in another so venue is extremely important.
3. Who the parties are?  Are you and your spouse both stubborn.  Do you definitely feel like you won't agree unless it is totally, 100% on your terms?  Your and your spouse's willingness to cooperate and compromise are factors in the length of time it takes to get divorced in South Carolina.

If you would like to discuss your particular case, I would love to meet with you at no obligation or cost to you to discuss your South Carolina divorce matter.  Our meeting is confidential and free.  You may contact me through the "Connect with Us" page or by calling my office directly.

How Do South Carolina Divorce Lawyers Charge for Services

One of the first questions that I am asked by a prospective client is how much is this going to cost me and how can we work out payments.  Most people even ask this question over the telephone when they are scheduling their initial consultation to meet with me.  As a general practice, I do not quote fees on the telephone, because the amount that I quote is based on the complexity and number of issues in your case and the time that I anticipate having to spend on it.Lawyers charge their fees in two main ways when it comes to representing someone in a divorce case: hourly or flat fee billing.  There are, I suppose, advantages to both.The tried and true method that most attorneys, especially attorneys who have been out practicing for a while is to charge the client an initial retainer.  That retainer is then placed in their trust account and when the attorney has completed work in that case, he bills the client and withdraws the amount of his bill from the client's retainer and places that in his law firm operating account.  Generally attorneys will have a minimum amount of money that they require the clients to keep in their trust account and they send a bill every month (or sometimes more often than that).The good thing for the lawyer is that they know they can get paid on a case.  The downside for most attorneys is that after the initial payment, many clients do not pay another dime to their attorney even if it has been fairly earned by the divorce lawyer.    So many attorneys will make sure that their initial retainer is substantial enough to get them pretty far through your case, if not all the way through, without completely depleting it.You can probably see how this is bad for the prospective client.  First, you do not know how much the case is going to cost you.  You do, however, know how much it is going to cost you to get started.  In this situation, it is almost like writing a blank check to your attorney because in most cases it is difficult for an attorney to judge exactly how long it is going to take him to adequately represent you because there are so many factors an things outside of your lawyer's control.  There is also a potential conflict of interest, because you want the lawyer to represent you well, but also not to bill you to death.  You lawyer, on the other hand, wants to make a good living and support his family.  So he may be interested in nickle and diming you to death on every thing he does in your case.Because of the initial retainer requirement and because many clients do not pay anything more after the lawyer has gotten to work, many divorce attorneys do not allow for payment plans because they want to make sure they get at least their retainer up front.So what's an example of this?  An attorney may tell you that in order for you to hire him/her to handle your divorce you would be required to pay a retainer of $3000.00 into their trust account.  Then they bill you by the hour for all of the work they and their staff do on your case by the individual who has performed the work's hourly rate.  Many divorce attorneys charge between $150 and $300 per hour depending on their experience, ego and other factors.  That means that your 15 minute telephone call to check on the status of your case will cost you anywhere from $37.50 to $75.  I hope you enjoyed that phone call!Another option for billing in divorce matters is flat fee billing. Flat fee billing is where you know exactly what it is going to cost you to get your divorce up front.  Generally, these fees are earned when paid so your attorney will not be billing you by the hour and you won't be entitled to a refund if the case is resolved quickly.  On the other side of that coin, however, you won't be billed more if your case is more time consuming than the lawyer initially expected either.Flat fee billing means that you will know when you leave your initial consultation what your divorce is going to cost you.  It may be split up into different phases of your case or it may all be due at once.The flat fee may actually give you sticker shock when you first hear the number.  It may sound like a crazy quote to handle your divorce case when you compare it to the other attorney who bills by the hour.  But when you actually calculate the number of hours the attorney will most likely bill you for, along with the activities you get billed for, and the rate at which your attorney bills his divorce clients (probably $200-300 per hour), it adds up quick and you will most likely surpass the flat fee quote.So, what's an example of flat fee billing?  In my office, I handle almost all of my family court matters on a flat fee basis.  The amount changes depending on the complexity of the case, but the flat fee frees up my time because I do not have to spend extra time keeping up with how much time I am working on your case.  I do not have to worry about sending you a bill each month to collect what you owe me.  You do not get billed extra for telephone calls, e-mails, or in-office appointments.  It is all included.  I typically break my fee up into three phases.  The first payment is due when you hire me and is typically 1/3 of the total fee.  The second 1/3 payment is usually due 90-120 days into the case and is known as the "discovery phase."  This leads us through discovery and mediation.  The final phase is the trial phase and it is due 60 days before the initial trial date for your case. The cool thing about the three phases is that if your case settles early on (or before the next phase payment is due) then you do not have to pay any additional fees, so that can encourage you to work towards a settlement in your case if that is a good option for you.Finally, no matter which way your attorney bills, you are almost always going to be responsible for all out of pocket costs.  This usually includes court fees, service of process fees, mediation costs, Guardian ad Litem fees, expert fees, subpoena fees, and more.

South Carolina Uncontested Divorce Clinic

If you reside in South Carolina you can participate in a "Pro Se Uncontested Divorce Clinic" that are being scheduled around the state and put on by South Carolina Legal Services.  The calendar for these seminars is located at the South Carolina Legal Services website.  In order to attend this clinic and be able to file for your uncontested divorce - you should be filing for divorce on the grounds of more than one year's continuous separation, have no property or debt to divide, have no minor children, and you must know where your spouse resides. In order to attend the clinic you need to register beforehand.  Please check out the South Carolina Legal Services web site for more information about upcoming clinics and to get registration information.

Changing Child Custody in South Carolina

When you separate from your spouse or when you get a divorce there are lots of different reasons why couples agree to certain custody arrangements for their minor children. If you did not pursue custody in your divorce or you believe it is time for a change of custody of your minor children here are some things that you will need to be able to prove according to South Carolina child custody law.In order to change or modify a child custody order in South Carolina you must show that the circumstances surrounding the original child custody order have substantially changed after the original child custody order and that those changes substantially affect the welfare and interests of the children in question (Moss v. Moss, 274 S.C. 120 (1980)).Of course, in any case where there is a question regarding the children, the absolute most important consideration the court must make is determining what is in the "best interest of the children."Generally, there is no black or white answer when it comes to child custody and changes of child custody in South Carolina.  The court will most likely look at the entire set of circumstances surrounding your children to determine what they feel is in the best interest of the children.  Also, it is usually based on many factors, not just one - but that isn't to say that the court could not use just one factor to make the decision to modify a previous child custody order.

Do You Need an Attorney to Represent You in Your Divorce

The following article was written by Alabama Family Law Attorney, Michael Sherman, author of the Alabama Family Law Blog.

You may not need a lawyer to represent you in your divorce case.  You do have the right to represent yourself. Representing yourself is a lot cheaper than hiring a lawyer.  However, you may be familiar with the old saying that the person who represents himself has a fool for a client.  The fact of the matter is that if you represent yourself, you potentially risk giving up important rights.  So how do you know whether you need a lawyer or not?I recommend that you hire a lawyer if you answer any of the following questions in the affirmative:

1. Is custody of your children disputed? Even if you are a good parent, you do not want to risk losing custody of your children.  A lawyer will help you present a stronger case for custody to the court.
2. Has your spouse hired a lawyer? The laws and procedures involved in a divorce are quite complex.  Do not let yourself be outmaneuvered by someone who knows the ropes.  The court will not protect you when you make errors.  Even in an uncontested divorce case, do not make the mistake of thinking that the lawyer your spouse hired can represent both of you.  A lawyer is ethically prohibited from representing both sides of a legal dispute (it is called a conflict of interest).  If your spouse gets a lawyer to draft a proposed agreement, at least retain a lawyer to review it and make suggested changes on your behalf.
3. Do you have significant assets to protect? Obviously, the more you have at stake, the more value you stand to receive from hiring a divorce specialist to represent you.  A lawyer will ensure that you pay only a fair amount in support payments and that the property is divided fairly.  An experienced lawyer can also minimize the amount of taxes you pay by structuring the property settlement properly.
4. Is your spouse claiming spousal support? The area of spousal support is the most uncertain area of divorce law.  Alabama does not have guidelines for determining alimony, and courts sometimes come to very different conclusions about how much spousal support should be paid, even on similar facts.  Your lawyer will help ensure that the amount of spousal support is fair.
5. Do you have a retirement account (and your marriage is 10 years or longer)? For many of my clients, their second most valuable asset after their home is their retirement account.  In Alabama, if you have been married for more than 10 years, then the portion of the retirement account that has been acquired during the marriage can be split equally.  The law regarding how these accounts should be divided is complicated.  Your lawyer will help ensure that it is valued and divided fairly.
6. Does your souse tend to dominate you in your relationship? There is an imbalance in power between you and your spouse.  If your spouse is domineering or controlling, you will be better off dealing with him or her through a lawyer.
7. Are there allegations of domestic violence or child abuse? Even if the allegations are not true, they can have a devastating effect and must be dealt with quickly and appropriately. Do not take such serious allegations lightly.
8. Are you unable to communicate effectively with your spouse? You will not be able to settle things with your former spouse if the two of you cannot communicate.  You will need a lawyer to help ensure that you get a fair settlement.
9. Are you or your spouse self-employed? The valuation of a business is complicated and you will need a lawyer to help with that process.  Also, the amount of spousal and child support payments that must be paid is based on income.  It is often easy for someone who is self-employed to manipulate income or to hide assets.  An experienced lawyer will know how to best try to prove unreported income.

I recognize my own bias on this issue.  But, the truth is in only the simplest of divorce cases (i.e. very short-term marriage, no children, no joint property and no joint debts) do I think you should consider not having a lawyer.  Even in those cases, if your spouse gets a lawyer to draft the proposed divorce agreement, I recommend you at least pay your own lawyer to review it on your behalf.

And now I'd like to invite you to learn more about Alabama divorce laws, the divorce process and other tips on finding the right divorce lawyer in Alabama when you visit http://www.AlabamaFamilyLawBlog.comFrom Michael Sherman - Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, and named to The Best Lawyers in America.

New Video Posts Coming to UpstateFamilyLawBlog.com

One of the ways I am wanting to use UpstateFamilyLawBlog.com to educate people is by using video to really explain certain topics that just can't be written about very easily.  My goal is to give you at least one video post every week discussing a topic related to South Carolina Divorce and Family Law.I hope you enjoy them.  If you would like to have a specifc question answered, please comment on this post or send me an e-mail directly through the "connect with us" page on this site.