{"id":376245,"date":"2016-03-31T21:36:41","date_gmt":"2016-04-01T02:36:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/state\/south-carolina-law\/south-carolina-marital-property-laws.html"},"modified":"2018-08-14T15:30:21","modified_gmt":"2018-08-14T20:30:21","slug":"south-carolina-marital-property-laws","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/state\/south-carolina-law\/south-carolina-marital-property-laws.html","title":{"rendered":"South Carolina Marital Property Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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South Carolina Marital Property Laws<\/h1>\n
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Created by FindLaw’s team<\/a> of legal writers and editors<\/i><\/p>\n\n | Last updated\n

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When a couple divorces, any assets or property<\/a> acquired during the marriage have to be divided. States do this in two main ways, community property and equitable distribution. South Carolina\u2019s marital property laws are, like the majority of states, equitable distribution laws.<\/p>\r\n

Spouses in South Carolina have a right to all marital property<\/a>. Marital property is all the real and personal property acquired by the parties during the marriage and owned at the date of filing for divorce. It doesn\u2019t matter if the family home bought during the marriage in only one spouse\u2019s name; the other spouse also has a right to it.<\/p>\r\n

However, the court can\u2019t divide non-marital property. Non-marital property is property that was:<\/p>\r\n

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  1. Acquired by a spouse before the marriage; <\/li>\r\n
  2. Acquired by a spouse through inheritance or gift to the spouse alone during the marriage; or <\/li>\r\n
  3. Excluded from marital property by a written contract or prenuptial agreement<\/a>. If excluded by a prenup, it\u2019s most likely to be considered fair and equitable as long as voluntarily signed by both parties while represented by separate counsel, and with a full financial disclosure to each other on income, debts, and assets, as required by family court rules.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

    The factors South Carolina judges look at to determine the distribution of marital property<\/a> are:<\/p>\r\n