The Complaint for Divorce is the initial document filed with the South Carolina court.
South Carolina is a fault-based and no-fault based divorce state.
Grounds for no-fault divorce include living separate and apart for at least 1 year; fault based grounds include Adultery, Desertion for at least one year, physical cruelty and habitual drunkenness or drug abuse.
Of southeastern states, only South Carolina's rate of 3.8 was below the national average divorce rate.
Not all cases involve support from one spouse to the other.
The obligation of one spouse to support the other financially for a temporary or permanent basis is decided on a case-by-case basis as agreed to by the parties or at the court's discretion.
The state has not yet passed the covenant marriage bill that requires couples meet with either a religious or secular counselor before they marry and also before they divorce.
Both parents have joint responsibility for child support.
