Divorce is a complex, emotionally charged process with serious consequences. It requires careful legal and practical navigation. As a family law firm, our goal is to provide our clients with a clear understanding of their rights and options while guiding them through each step of the legal process. Call the Ballinger Law Firm today at (843) 412-9507 to learn how we can assist you with your divorce.

Divorce involves the dissolution of a marriage and often involves a range of issues including spousal support, child support, child custody, and the division of property. Every case is unique and influenced by the specifics of the marriage and the individual circumstances of all parties involved including your children. At the Ballinger Law Firm, it’s our privilege to advocate for the best interests of our clients and to protect their rights throughout the legal process.
We know that understanding and navigating the legal landscape of divorce can be a daunting challenge, with numerous state and federal laws affecting the proceedings. That’s why it’s critical to have a knowledgeable attorney on your side, one with experience handling the complex aspects of divorce cases.
Even if you and your spouse are on relatively amicable terms, you should not assume that you can navigate a divorce without legal representation on your side. You need an attorney who not only understands South Carolina divorce law thoroughly but who can also address your unique needs. The Ballinger Law Firm offers client-focused legal counsel for all types of divorce cases in the Mount Pleasant and Greater Charleston area.
In South Carolina, a divorce case begins when one spouse submits a divorce petition to the court and serves those papers on the other spouse, who will then submit their written response to the petitioner’s allegations. In South Carolina, divorce is frequently filed on a no-fault basis, but the spouses will need to live separately for at least one full year before they will be eligible for a final divorce decree.
It is also possible to file for divorce in South Carolina on fault-based grounds. These include abuse, adultery, habitual substance abuse, or abandonment for a period of at least one year.
Another prerequisite for divorce in South Carolina is the residency requirement. At least one of the divorcing spouses must have lived in the state for one year or longer or both of you must have lived here for at least three months before submitting a divorce petition to the court.
Divorce is more than just ending a marriage contract; it is also the process of dividing up the divorcing couple’s property and setting spousal support and alimony rights. If the couple has children, they will also need to resolve child custody and support as part of their divorce proceedings.
In South Carolina, property division in a divorce case is resolved through the equitable distribution system. The divorcing spouses must divide marital property in the fairest possible manner, but this does not necessarily mean that each spouse will receive exactly 50% of each piece of property (or its value). A judge determines what equitable distribution is as each divorce case is resolved, based on the unique facts of each case.
The property division process in divorce requires each spouse to submit a financial disclosure statement, which includes all of the spouse’s financial assets and debts. Each of the divorcing spouses must provide complete and accurate financial disclosure statements to ensure that property division will be as fair as possible.
Under South Carolina’s equitable distribution law, the spouses must divide marital property, which is any property they acquired together during the course of their marriage. Each spouse will usually be allowed to keep their separate property. This separate property may include things they owned prior to marriage, gifts given specifically to a spouse by third parties, and any inheritance a spouse has received from other family members. If there is any dispute as to whether any claimed separate property actually qualifies as marital property, the couple will need to resolve these disputes to complete the property division.
Your Charleston divorce attorney can help you complete the financial disclosure process accurately, ensuring that you are not penalized for omissions or errors. If you encounter any discrepancies with your spouse’s Financial Declaration, or if you believe they have been untruthful in this aspect of your divorce, your attorney can also explain how to resolve the issue and hold them accountable if necessary.
When divorcing spouses have children, determining custody rights for their children is likely to be the most contentious and emotionally stressful aspect of their divorce case. In South Carolina, the family court must decide what type of custody arrangement would suit the best interests of the children by evaluating many factors.
When a South Carolina court must resolve a child custody case, the judge handling the case needs to evaluate several factors:
These are just a few examples of the factors the court must evaluate when determining custody in Charleston.
Keep in mind that two types of custody are addressed in these cases. Physical custody pertains to the child’s residence and where they spend their time, while legal custody pertains to the ability to make important decisions for a child.
In many custody cases, divorced parents share custody to some extent. They may have equal shares of legal custody, meaning they must consult one another about all major decisions for their child, but physical custody may be divided in a manner the court deems most appropriate for the child. Generally, the family court will aim to disrupt the child’s life as little as possible in a custody determination.
Every child custody determination will include terms and conditions for child support. State law requires that both parents contribute to the financial cost of raising their child, and one parent will usually be required to pay child support to the other.
Determining a child support amount requires calculating the total amount of support the child needs each month. The court will then assess each parent’s income and custody rights to determine which parent will pay support to the other. Unexpected life events or changes in the child’s needs can justify the modification of an existing support order.
While South Carolina’s equitable distribution law is meant to ensure the fairest possible division of marital assets in divorce, in some cases, one spouse may be in a better financial position than the other. They may earn more income, have more expansive job prospects, or they may have substantial separate assets. Divorce can drastically change the other spouse’s quality of life. In such cases, alimony or spousal support is likely to come into play.
A spousal support determination addresses the lower-earning spouse’s financial needs, and the purpose of this support is to ensure the supported spouse can maintain a reasonably similar standard of living following divorce and that they will have the financial support they need to adjust to living independently.
Many factors can be assessed when determining alimony or spousal support, but generally, the most important are the income difference between the divorcing spouses and the length of time their marriage lasted.
Many divorces in South Carolina are filed on a no-fault basis. That simply means the marriage has broken down past the point of potential reconciliation, but neither spouse did anything to directly cause the breakdown. Spouses must meet the separation requirement in order to finalize a no-fault divorce in South Carolina.
When a spouse files for a fault-based divorce, they will need to show that the other spouse directly caused the marriage’s breakdown through adultery, abuse, abandonment, or consistent intoxication (drugs or alcohol). The judge may award the victim of such actions with a more favorable final order, such as a greater share of marital property in property division or expanded alimony.
Even after your South Carolina divorce case has been finished, you might need to revisit your family court order due to certain life events. If your family court order contains provisions for child custody, child support, or alimony, you need to know when and how you can make changes to these terms. Property division is never modifiable.
For example, if you are required to pay child support but suffer a severe injury and can no longer work, you may petition the court for an adjusted child support order that reflects your new circumstances. You may also petition for a change to a custody order due to relocation, or for a termination of a spousal support obligation if your ex-spouse has started cohabitating with a new partner or if they have remarried.
Establishing a good working relationship with a Charleston divorce attorney means that you will have an experienced legal advocate familiar with your situation ready to assist you in the future should the need arise. The Ballinger Law Firm will work closely with you to draft a complete and accurate petition for modification and prepare you for the proceedings that this entails.
Ultimately, separation and divorce is almost always a challenging process. Having the right legal counsel on your side can make this process much easier and a positive outcome more likely.
The Ballinger Law Firm will help you address each aspect of your divorce with confidence from filing or responding to an initial divorce petition all the way through making the strongest case possible for your preferred property division, custody, and support terms.
We can help you meet all of your filing requirements with the court. We have provided effective and compassionate legal representation to clients in the Charleston area for more than 30 years, and we will leverage this experience in handling your divorce case.
It is natural to have lots of difficult legal questions about your impending divorce case in Charleston. The right attorney can have a tremendously positive influence on your experience. We want to help you move forward with your life as smoothly as possible following your divorce in the Mount Pleasant, South Carolina area. For more information about how we can support you during your upcoming divorce, call us at (843) 412-9507 or contact our law firm today.