Uncontested Divorce in SC: Requirements, Filing, and Waiting Period

An uncontested divorce in SC is available when both spouses agree on every issue and have lived in separate residences for at least one continuous year. The filing fee is $150, and because the one-year separation ground carries a shortened waiting period, the case can move quickly once your spouse is served and responds. The work sits in three places: meeting the residency and separation rules, writing a settlement agreement the judge will approve, and finishing with either a short hearing or sworn affidavits.

Who Qualifies

At least one spouse must have lived in South Carolina for a year before filing. If both of you live in the state, the filing spouse only needs three months of residency.1South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 20-3-30 – Residence Requirement

The only no-fault ground is one year of continuous separation. You must have lived in separate residences the entire time, with no cohabiting and no resumed marital relations.2South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 20-3-10 – Grounds for Divorce A single overnight under the same roof can restart the clock. South Carolina also recognizes fault grounds like adultery and physical cruelty, but those run on the contested track and don’t fit here.

What Your Settlement Agreement Has To Cover

“Uncontested” means every disputed issue is already resolved in writing. One unresolved item, and the case can’t proceed on this track. The judge will read the agreement before signing anything.

Property and Debts

South Carolina divides marital property equitably, which is fair but not necessarily 50/50. In an uncontested case you and your spouse decide the split, and the court checks that the terms are reasonable.3South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 20-3-620 – Apportionment Factors Address real estate, vehicles, bank and investment accounts, and all debts accumulated during the marriage.

Custody and Child Support

If you have minor children, spell out legal custody (who decides on education, health care, and religion), a physical placement schedule, and child support. South Carolina uses the Income Shares Model, and a judge will reject an agreement whose support terms deviate sharply from the guidelines without a good explanation.

Alimony

South Carolina recognizes four kinds of alimony: periodic, lump-sum, rehabilitative, and reimbursement.4South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 20 Chapter 3 – Divorce If your agreement waives alimony, that waiver is almost certainly permanent. South Carolina courts have held that spouses can contract out of any future judicial review, and once you sign away the right you generally cannot reopen it even if your finances change drastically. Think carefully before waiving, especially where there’s a large income gap.

Forms, Fees, and Where To File

The South Carolina Judicial Branch publishes self-represented divorce packets.5South Carolina Judicial Branch. SRL Simple Divorce Packets South Carolina Legal Services also offers a free interactive version at lawhelp.org/sc.

Your packet will include:

Everything that requires notarization must be signed in front of a notary before you file. Missing signatures and notary stamps are the most common reason clerks bounce a packet back.

You file with the Clerk of Court in the county where either spouse lives. The fee is $150.8South Carolina Judicial Branch. Court Fees If you can’t afford it, file Form SCCA 405, a motion and financial affidavit to proceed in forma pauperis; if granted, you move forward without paying.9South Carolina Judicial Department. SCCA 405 FC Motion and Affidavit to Proceed In Forma Pauperis

Serving Your Spouse

Your spouse has to be formally served. The simplest route in an uncontested case is an Acceptance of Service, a written acknowledgment that your spouse received the papers.10South Carolina Judicial Branch. South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 4 That avoids the cost of a process server or the sheriff’s department. Your spouse then has 30 days from service to file a written response.

The Waiting Period and the Final Step

South Carolina’s general rule is that a divorce decree can’t be granted sooner than three months after the Complaint is filed. The one-year separation ground is the exception: the hearing can be held and the decree issued as soon as responsive pleadings are filed or the defendant is in default.4South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 20 Chapter 3 – Divorce So if your spouse signs the Acceptance of Service and files their response promptly, you can ask for a hearing right away.

At the final step, the court needs testimony confirming you and your spouse actually lived apart for the required year and that reconciliation isn’t possible. Family Court Rule 28 gives you two paths. The traditional one is a brief hearing where a corroborating witness (a friend, family member, or neighbor who can confirm the separation) testifies in person. The alternative, available specifically for uncontested one-year separation cases, lets both spouses and the corroborating witness submit written affidavits, so the judge can grant the divorce without anyone appearing in court.11South Carolina Judicial Branch. South Carolina Rules of Family Court Rule 28

Once the judge reviews the testimony and the settlement agreement, they sign the Final Order of Divorce.12South Carolina Judicial Department. SCCA 400.10 SRL – Final Order of Divorce (One Year’s Continuous Separation) The decree is filed with the Clerk of Court, and the marriage is dissolved.

If Your Spouse Objects or Ignores The Papers

An uncontested case stays uncontested only as long as both spouses agree. If your spouse files an Answer disputing any term, or files a Counterclaim within the 30-day window, the case becomes contested. That means longer timelines, likely mediation, and potentially a trial. Some couples start out expecting cooperation and end up contested when one side rethinks property division or custody.

If your spouse doesn’t respond at all within 30 days, you can ask the court to enter a default. The court can then proceed without your spouse’s participation and may grant the relief requested in your Complaint.

Loose Ends To Settle In The Agreement

A clean decree depends on a few details that are easy to miss during negotiations and painful to fix later.

Retirement Accounts

Retirement accounts are marital property to the extent they were funded during the marriage. If you’re dividing a 401(k), pension, or similar employer-sponsored plan, you need a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO). Federal law requires the order to name both spouses and their addresses, specify the exact amount or percentage transferred, identify the number of payments or period covered, and list each plan it applies to.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 414 – Definitions and Special Rules After the judge signs it, the QDRO goes to the plan administrator, who can reject vague or incorrect language. Without a proper QDRO, a direct withdrawal is treated as an early distribution, which means income taxes plus a 10% penalty for anyone under 59½. IRAs don’t need a QDRO; they’re divided through a transfer incident to divorce handled by the financial institution.

Name Change

If you want to restore a former name, include that request in the divorce paperwork. Rule 28 allows name changes to be granted as part of an uncontested divorce, including when the case is resolved by affidavit.11South Carolina Judicial Branch. South Carolina Rules of Family Court Rule 28 Forget to include it and you’ll need a separate petition later.

Health Insurance

Coverage under your spouse’s employer-sponsored plan typically ends when the divorce is finalized. COBRA lets you continue that coverage for up to 36 months, but you pay the full premium plus a 2% administrative fee. The deadline matters: you or your former spouse must notify the health plan within 60 days of the divorce to preserve COBRA eligibility.14U.S. Department of Labor. FAQs on COBRA Continuation Health Coverage for Workers Miss it and you lose the right. Spell out in the agreement who sends the notice. If COBRA is too expensive, the divorce triggers a Special Enrollment Period on the Marketplace, giving you 60 days to shop for an individual plan that may qualify for premium subsidies based on your new income.

Taxes

For any divorce agreement executed after December 31, 2018, alimony is neither deductible by the payer nor taxable to the recipient.15Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 452, Alimony and Separate Maintenance That changes the real cost of any payment number you negotiate.

On the children, the custodial parent (the one with the child more than half the year) generally claims the dependency and the child tax credit, but can release the claim by signing IRS Form 8332 for the noncustodial parent to attach to their return.16Internal Revenue Service. Form 8332 (Rev. December 2025) Your agreement should say which parent claims each child and in which years.

Your marital status on December 31 sets your filing status for the whole year. Finalized by then, you file single or head of household. Not finalized, you file married jointly or separately.

Social Security After A Long Marriage

If your marriage lasted at least 10 years, you may be eligible to collect Social Security on your ex-spouse’s record. You must be at least 62, currently unmarried, and your ex-spouse must be eligible for retirement or disability benefits. If your ex hasn’t started claiming, you also need to have been divorced for at least two years.17Social Security Administration. Code of Federal Regulations 404.331 Claiming on their record doesn’t reduce their benefit or their current spouse’s. If a divorce is approaching the 10-year mark, the arithmetic of waiting a few extra months is worth running before you file.