Key Highlights
- Typically, couples in South Carolina are required to be apart for a year before they can apply for divorce.
- If your spouse is guilty on any of the grounds under no-fault divorce, you can file for divorce right away.
- You could also opt for one of the alternative dispute resolution methods to get a divorce such as mediation or arbitration.
Few divorce procedures are cut-and-dried, but if you live in South Carolina and want a quick divorce, it is useful to know what might apply under state law. Many of us assume that the one-year South Carolina separation rule applies to all divorces; that just isn’t so. Depending on your individual circumstances, you may be able to divorce directly rather than waiting the full calendar year.
We will analyze the legal ways one may opt to divorce in South Carolina without waiting a year. We will also identify the required processes and top tips that may be crucial to smooth sailing through them. Awareness of mediation and arbitration would establish many alternatives to long court battles.
Legal Grounds for Divorce: A Summary in South Carolina
Normally, couples in South Carolina are required to be apart for a year before they can apply for divorce. However South Carolina has laws on fault-based divorce and may drastically reduce the waiting period. If your spouse has been guilty of one of several serious offenses that you can prove, you can file for divorce right away.
These include the legal causes for a no-fault divorce in South Carolina:
Adultery
Marital adultery is a sufficient cause for divorce quickly upon the expiration of one year after the date of marriage. Adultery is likely the greatest betrayal of a marriage vow, but it can also be a valid cause for a quick divorce. Photos, SMS or other testimonies of witnesses taken during the adventure of adultery will be the centerpieces in your case.
Bodily Cruelty
Despite being physically maltreated by your husband’s bodily harm or violence, you may not seek to file for divorce at this time. Bodily cruelty means any intentional causation of bodily harm which would give rise to a reasonable apprehension of danger to your wife’s person or well-being. In the case of this divorce ground, several instances of abuse are not required; one severe act of violence can be enough.
Habitual Drunkenness or Substance Abuse
If spouse habitually drunk or abused substances, and thereby been injurious to the marriage, you may seek a divorce decree before fulfilling the one year requirement. To establish habitually drunken or substance abusive means prove by documents or testimony an overall persistent pattern of conduct which has seriously injured the marriage.
Abandonment Or Desertion
When your spouse has deserted you for such a period of time-usually in excess of one year-that is required to constitute abandonment this may be a no-fault divorce with no time requirement for legal separation. For such grounds you shall be compelled to prove that your spouse will not likely return to your marriage.
Hence, he articulates one of the fault-based reasons that hasten divorce proceedings and do not wait for ages as many couples generally tend to.
Ground Of Fault-Based Divorce Filing
Once you are satisfied that your divorce falls under fault-based divorce, file a complaint in the family court of the county where either you or your spouse live. Here’s what you ought to do:
Draft the Complaint
The complaint for divorce is a case document detailing your grounds for divorce. It should have elaborate details concerning the grounds for divorce, including cases of adultery, abuse, or substance abuse. Be clear, accurate, and succinct-the paper will be the basis for your case.
Evidence To Be Acquired/ Proof
One is looking at strengthening their case whether it be on witness statements, photographs, financial records or even other documentation. Proving your spouse’s actions-whether intentional or not-would be a justification for an immediate divorce if fault-based grounds are claimed.
Serve Your Spouse
After you filed the complaint, you will have to serve your spouse divorce papers. This notifies your spouse that proceedings have begun. He or she may return the paper and, if he or she does not contest your grounds for divorce, the case will proceed much faster.
Attend The Court Hearing
The family court then orients you and arranges a hearing for the review of your case. You and your attorney will present your case before the judge and bring evidence to prove your fault-based divorce case. Here, if the judge feels that the evidence presented is adequate, he will grant you divorce without the year separation period.
Request An Expedited Hearing
You can also request an expedited hearing as the other means of speeding up your divorce process. Expedited hearings are granted whenever it is necessary to determine the divorce speedily.
Amongst the other regular circumstances that can lead to requesting an expedited hearing include;
- Domestic violence: Even in case of a threat of continued harm, the court may take precedence over your case.
- Financial difficulty: Even in a severe financial situation, if one party faces undue hardship because of the delay in divorce, then the divorce can be expedited.
- Health issues: Issues of health of major size that the divorce process may consequently affect also require hastening your case.
You would have an expedited hearing through a formal application to the court, along with a statement of urgency to be presented. So, in this regard, family law attorney assistance can be very great, for they will help draft a persuasive argument explaining why your case should be heard right away.
Alternative Methods Of Dispute Resolution
Divorce does not have to enter a courtroom, either. If the parties involved are willing and open to communication, mediation or arbitration can be used for their case. Both of these allow cases to be heard and settled in a far less hectic manner than traditional court cases and may help to avoid delays.
Mediation
A neutral third-party mediator helps you and your spouse reach an agreement over basic issues, such as childcare, division of property, and support payments. Mediation is a more collaborative approach in which the couple has higher control over the decision.
Arbitration
In arbitration, a neutral arbitrator acts as a private judge who would resolve the outstanding issues. Even though arbitration is far more formal compared to mediation, arbitration may be faster and less confrontational than a court trial.
Consequently, mediation and arbitration cases usually speed up the divorce process, especially in cases without dispute.
Uncontested Divorces
You and your spouse can agree on the terms of divorce and opt for an uncontested divorce, meaning the process will take less time and money than a contested divorce. For an uncontested divorce in South Carolina, the couple should have lived in the state for at least three months and should understand what should or shouldn’t be included in the divorce. If all the paperwork is submitted to the judge’s table, he goes through it, and if it is all fair and proper, then the agreement’s details get legalized.
Conclusion: Stepping Forward with Confidence
A party may get a divorce in South Carolina before even a year when the proper circumstance is involved. One achieves it based on fault-based grounds, such as adultery or physical cruelty. Others achieve it based on an expedited hearing or through alternative dispute resolution methods. If you wish to get divorced, consult with an attorney experienced in family law who can, through the complexities of such applicable law, assist you in satisfying all the requirements for such a process and orient you on South Carolina divorce laws. You will then be set forth much quicker with minimal stress.
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