Coastal Legal Services

Step 1:  requirements

If you do not meet all of the following requirements or you have specific questions about your divorce case, you should speak with an experienced family law attorney in your area. A court or judge can't answer questions about your particular case or legal rights.

In South Carolina, you may file for a simple divorce without the help of a lawyer if you meet the following:

• you or your spouse have lived in South Carolina for at least one year prior to filing for your divorce, or you and your spouse both live in South Carolina and have lived there for at least three months before filing for divorce

• you are filing on the ground of one year continuous separation without living together at any point during that year

• you have no martial property or marital debt, or you have reached an agreement on how to divide the marital property and/or debt, and

• you have no children with your spouse and none are expected, or you have minor children together and have reached an agreement about custody, visitation and child support (and the child support agreement meets the minimum requirements set by South Carolina Child Support Guidelines).

If you meet all of the above requirements, then you must complete the following steps to fill out the forms for a simple divorce.​​