Divorce Attorneys in Bluffton, SC

Grounds

South Carolina grants a divorce for adultery, desertion for one year, physical cruelty, habitual drunkenness, or when the spouses have lived separate and apart without cohabitation for one year (SC Code § 20-3-10).

Residency

The person filing must have lived in South Carolina for one year, or three months if both spouses live in the state (§ 20-3-30).

Waiting

No final decree before three months after filing, except that a one-year-separation or desertion case can be heard once the responses are filed or the other spouse is in default (§ 20-3-80).

Where it is filed

Family court for Beaufort County sits at the courthouse complex at 102 Ribaut Rd in Beaufort.

Five firms in town

Regina Banis, Matyushevsky Law Group, Peacock Law Group, Horton & Associates and Siletskaya Immigration Law Firm each list divorce or custody on their own websites.

South Carolina grants a divorce on one of five grounds: adultery, desertion for one year, physical cruelty, habitual drunkenness (which includes narcotic drugs), or, on the application of either spouse, when the two have lived separate and apart without cohabitation for one year (SC Code § 20-3-10). Before granting a divorce the court must also find that an effort to reconcile the parties was unavailing (§ 20-3-90).

Which ground fits is a question for a Bluffton divorce attorney. Every firm on this page can tell you how it approaches the choice.

To file, one spouse must have lived in South Carolina for a year before the case starts. If both spouses live in the state, the person filing needs only three months (§ 20-3-30). For someone stationed in South Carolina on active duty, the code counts a continuous presence in the state as residence whether or not they intend to stay, which can apply to families tied to the Marine Corps installations in Beaufort County.

The code sets minimum delays: no reference before two months after the complaint is filed with the Clerk of Court, and no final decree before three months after filing. A case filed on one-year separation or desertion can be heard and decided once the responsive pleadings are in, or once the other spouse has been found in default, whichever comes first (§ 20-3-80).

In a divorce case the family court may make orders about the care, custody and maintenance of the children, at any stage and again after the final judgment (§ 20-3-160). It may grant alimony or separate maintenance, temporary or permanent, in amounts and for a term it finds appropriate (§ 20-3-130), and on request it must make a final equitable apportionment of the marital property (§ 20-3-620). A spouse who commits adultery before a written settlement agreement is signed, or a permanent order is entered, cannot be awarded alimony (§ 20-3-130).

Matyushevsky Law Group lists custody and visitation, child support, prenuptial agreements and modifications, and Horton & Associates lists spousal support and alimony. Regina Banis has been a certified South Carolina family court mediator since 2009, so ask any firm whether it offers mediation. This page does not say what you would receive or pay.

Family court for Beaufort County sits at the courthouse complex at 102 Ribaut Rd in Beaufort. A divorce case is started with the Clerk of Court there, so most hearings mean a drive from Bluffton to Beaufort. The firms above all work from Bluffton, and Peacock Law Group, Horton & Associates and Regina Banis name Beaufort County and Jasper County on their sites.

If the cost of a lawyer is the hurdle, Lowcountry Legal Volunteers (843-815-1570) helps income-qualified Beaufort, Hampton and Jasper County residents with civil legal problems. It has an Okatie location at 108 Traders Cross, open Monday through Thursday, 9 to 4, by appointment. Bluffton Self Help lists other local help.

Matyushevsky Law Group says on its site that it serves Ridgeland and Hardeeville, and Peacock Law Group names Ridgeland and Jasper County. Horton & Associates and Regina Banis name Jasper County. All five offices are in Bluffton, so call to confirm they take your case before you drive in.

A divorce often touches the home, so see Bluffton real estate and the closing attorneys on the lawyers page. Wills and powers of attorney are covered there too, and families with children can check Bluffton schools. Newcomers can start in Old Town Bluffton, where the Bluffton Rd offices are a short distance away.