How to Fill Out a South Carolina Financial Declaration Form

To fill out a South Carolina Financial Declaration form, download the current SCCA 430 from the state Judicial Branch website, gather the pay stubs, tax returns, bills, and account statements that back every line, complete the income, expenses, assets, and debts sections using actual figures rather than estimates, redact protected personal information, sign in front of a notary, and file and serve the form before your Rule 20 or Rule 21 deadline. Both parties in a South Carolina family court case involving money have to file one, and the judge uses it as a sworn financial portrait when deciding child support, alimony, and property division.

Where to Get the Form

The current form is SCCA 430. It’s available in PDF and Word from the South Carolina Judicial Branch under the self-represented litigant resources, and paper copies are available at your county Clerk of Court’s office.¹ Use the Word version if you plan to type your entries; handwriting works, but it’s harder to correct.

Know Your Deadline Before You Start

Family Court Rule 20 requires your financial declaration to be filed and served before your first hearing or within 45 days after the complaint is served, whichever comes first.² If a temporary hearing is on the calendar, Rule 21 shortens things: all written evidence, including the declaration, has to be served and filed at least five days before that hearing.³ Figure out which clock applies to you before you start entering numbers.

Pull the Documents That Back Every Number

The single biggest mistake on this form is guessing. Judges and opposing counsel compare declarations against the underlying records, and gaps between the two erode your credibility. Before you touch the form, put these documents in front of you:

Recent pay stubs, your last three years of federal tax returns, W-2s, 1099s, and any records of self-employment or side income.
Mortgage or rent statements, utility bills, insurance premium notices, medical bills, childcare invoices, car payment statements, and credit card statements showing recurring charges.
Bank and credit union statements, retirement and investment account statements, property tax assessments or appraisals, vehicle titles with estimated values, and documentation for any business interests.
Loan statements for mortgages, auto loans, student loans, and personal loans, along with current credit card balances and any other outstanding obligations.

Filling In the Income Section

The form asks for gross monthly income by category. If you’re paid biweekly, multiply one gross paycheck by 26 and divide by 12. That’s the accurate monthly figure, not the paycheck amount doubled.

The categories on SCCA 430 include principal employment earnings; overtime, tips, commissions, and bonuses (average these over the past 12 months if they fluctuate); pensions, retirement, and annuities you currently receive; Social Security and VA benefits; disability and workers’ compensation; unemployment benefits; spousal or child support from another relationship; dividends, interest, trust income, and capital gains; and rental income and business profits.⁴

Below the income lines, the form walks through payroll deductions: federal and state income tax, FICA, health insurance premiums for you and your children, union dues, and retirement contributions (both voluntary 401(k)-type and mandatory pension contributions). The form subtracts total deductions from total gross to produce your net monthly income, and that net figure is what the court uses as the starting point for support calculations.

Filling In the Expenses Section

SCCA 430 lists around 25 expense lines, and the court expects you to fill in every one that applies to you.⁴ The major categories are housing (rent or mortgage, property taxes, household maintenance), food and household supplies, utilities, phone and internet, insurance premiums not already deducted from your paycheck, auto costs (payment, insurance, gas, maintenance), and medical expenses not covered by insurance.

Lines people commonly overlook: children’s incidental expenses, school lunches and supplies, laundry and dry cleaning, entertainment, and adult incidentals. A blank line reads to the court as a zero. Work through two or three months of bank and credit card statements to pick up recurring costs you’d otherwise forget.

Filling In the Assets Section

The assets section separates marital property from non-marital property. On the marital side, list the current value of cash and checking accounts, savings and money market accounts, voluntary retirement accounts (401(k)s, IRAs), pension accounts, publicly held stocks and mutual funds, privately held business interests, and real estate net of any mortgage balance.⁴

For non-marital property, the form asks for a description of each asset, who holds title, when it was acquired, and how it was paid for. The distinction matters because the court generally divides marital property and leaves non-marital property with the original owner. Land you inherited before the marriage and kept in your own name goes in the non-marital column, but you still have to disclose it.

The $300,000 Asset Threshold

If your total marital assets are below $300,000, complete the standard asset section and move on. If they exceed $300,000, the form requires additional itemization sections later in the document, giving more granular detail about each asset’s value and ownership.⁴ Either way, the form must be notarized.

Filling In the Debts Section

SCCA 430 has two debt areas. The first is for installment loans (car loans, student loans, credit cards with set payments). For each, list the creditor, what the debt is for, the monthly payment, the current balance, and who owes it: you, your spouse, or jointly.⁴

The second area covers debts not payable in monthly installments, like a lump sum owed to a family member or an upcoming tax liability. List the creditor, the amount, and when payment is due. Don’t drop smaller debts because they feel too small to matter. Omitting a debt you later want to raise in negotiations reads as evasive.

Redact Personal Information Before Filing

Civil Court Rule 41.2 puts the responsibility for redacting sensitive personal information on you, not the clerk.⁵ Before you file, work through the form and adjust:

Do not include any portion of a Social Security number.
Show only the last four digits of bank account numbers, PINs, or passwords.
Use a minor child’s first name and last initial (“John S.”) or just initials (“J.S.”).
Include only the year of birth for dates of birth.
List only city and state for home addresses of minors or non-parties.

The clerk will not catch these for you. Full account numbers or Social Security numbers on a public filing create real identity theft exposure.

Sign in Front of a Notary

Every SCCA 430 has to be signed and notarized, regardless of asset level.⁴ That means signing in the presence of a notary public who witnesses your signature and applies a seal. Banks, UPS stores, and law offices commonly offer notary services. Don’t sign the form beforehand; the notary has to watch you sign it.

Your signature is a sworn statement that the information is true and complete. Treat it that way. If the other side later shows you misstated income or hid assets, the fallout goes well past a bad hearing.

File and Serve the Declaration

File the notarized form with the Family Court in the county where your case is pending. You can walk it into the Clerk of Court’s office or submit it through South Carolina’s statewide e-filing system, eFlex.⁶ Make at least three copies first: one for the court, one for you, one for the opposing party.

Then serve a copy on the other party or their attorney. If the other side is represented, deliver to the attorney by hand, by mail, or through the e-filing system. Keep proof of service. Mailed copies should go by certified mail with return receipt so you have a record of when it landed.

What Happens If You Miss the Deadline or Misreport

Rule 20 authorizes the court to impose reasonable sanctions on any party or attorney who willfully fails to comply with the financial declaration requirement.² That can mean paying the other side’s attorney fees, having the court draw negative inferences about your finances, or in serious cases, having your pleadings struck or being held in contempt.

Inaccuracy is its own risk. Because the form is sworn, intentional underreporting or hidden assets can be treated as fraud on the court. Even honest errors hurt: if your declaration lists $200 a month for food but your bank statements show $600, the judge has a reason to question every other line. It’s much easier to get the numbers right the first time than to explain them the second time.

1
South Carolina Judicial Branch. Self-Represented Litigant Visitation Packets
2
South Carolina Judicial Branch. Rule 20 – Financial Declaration
3
South Carolina Judicial Branch. Rule 21 – Temporary Relief
4
South Carolina Judicial Branch. Financial Declaration
5
South Carolina Judicial Branch. Rule 41.2 – Privacy Protection for Filings
6
South Carolina Judicial Branch. eFlex – South Carolina Statewide E-Filing