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South Carolina SC AI draft

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Distribution Type
Equitable Distribution
Division Standard
Equitable — judge decides
Income Adjustment
Equitable

Methodology

Equitable distribution

South Carolina apportions marital property under S.C. Code §20-3-620(B), which directs the court to “give weight in such proportion as it finds appropriate” to fifteen enumerated factors — the statute contains no presumption of equal division. The factors include the duration of the marriage with the parties' ages at marriage and at divorce; marital misconduct or fault (whether or not it grounds the divorce, subject to a cutoff after a pendente lite order or signed settlement); the value of the marital property and each spouse's contribution, including homemaking; each spouse's income and earning potential; physical and emotional health; the need for additional training or education; nonmarital property; vested retirement benefits; alimony awards; the custodial spouse's desirability of the family home; tax consequences; existing liens and encumbrances; child custody arrangements; support obligations; and other relevant factors. Marital property is identified as of the date of filing (§20-3-630).

Division Factors

The following factors are commonly evaluated under South Carolina law:

  1. Duration of the marriage together with the ages of the parties at the time of the marriage and at the time of the divorce (S.C. Code §20-3-620(B)(1))
  2. Marital misconduct or fault of either or both parties, whether or not used as a basis for the divorce, if it affected the parties' economic circumstances or contributed to the breakup — subject to the statutory cutoff at the earliest of a pendente lite order, a signed settlement agreement, or a permanent separate-maintenance order (§20-3-620(B)(2))
  3. Value of the marital property and the contribution of each spouse to its acquisition, preservation, depreciation, or appreciation, including the quality of the contribution as homemaker (§20-3-620(B)(3))
  4. Income of each spouse, the earning potential of each spouse, and the opportunity for future acquisition of capital assets (§20-3-620(B)(4))
  5. Health, both physical and emotional, of each spouse (§20-3-620(B)(5))
  6. Need of each spouse or either spouse for additional training or education in order to achieve that spouse's income potential (§20-3-620(B)(6))
  7. Nonmarital properties of each spouse (§20-3-620(B)(7))
  8. Existence or nonexistence of vested retirement benefits for each or either spouse (§20-3-620(B)(8))
  9. Whether separate maintenance or alimony has been awarded (§20-3-620(B)(9))
  10. Desirability of awarding the family home as part of equitable distribution, or the right to live therein for reasonable periods, to the spouse having custody of any children (§20-3-620(B)(10))
  11. Tax consequences to each or either party as a result of equitable apportionment (§20-3-620(B)(11))
  12. Existence and extent of any prior support obligations (§20-3-620(B)(12))
  13. Liens and any other encumbrances upon the marital property and any other existing debts (§20-3-620(B)(13))
  14. Child custody arrangements and obligations at the time of the entry of the order (§20-3-620(B)(14))
  15. Such other relevant factors as the trial court shall expressly enumerate in its order (§20-3-620(B)(15))

Statute / Authority

Citation: S.C. Code Ann. §20-3-620 ↗

Source: https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/statmast.php

Source & verification AI draft
Citation
S.C. Code Ann. §20-3-620
Source URL
https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/statmast.php
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Reference Library

South Carolina Property Division

South Carolina Code §20-3-620(B) directs the family court to apportion the marital estate by giving each of fifteen enumerated factors weight in such proportion as it finds appropriate — there is no statutory presumption that an equal division is equitable. The factors span duration and the parties' ages, marital fault (with the statute's cutoff rules), contributions including homemaking, income and earning potential, health, training needs, nonmarital property, vested retirement benefits, alimony, the family home for a custodial spouse, taxes, liens and debts, custody arrangements, and support obligations. Marital property is fixed as of the date of filing (§20-3-630).

Citation: S.C. Code Ann. §20-3-620

Source: https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/statmast.php

Last updated: 2026-07-23T00:37:19.811659

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