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Even for uncontested divorces, South Dakota law requires spouses to wait 60 days from the date you file the divorce paperwork until the judge can finalize the divorce. (S.D. Codified Laws §25-4-34.) The law doesn't require either spouse to attend a final divorce hearing for uncontested divorces.

Custody, also called ?custodial responsibility,? is defined by South Dakota law as all powers and responsibilities related to taking care of your child, known as caretaking authority, and making decisions on his/her behalf, known as decision-making authority. This includes physical and legal custody.

In South Dakota, the standard parenting guidelines will set out the custody arrangement to be followed by the parents. You can object to the standard guidelines and the judge will order a hearing within thirty days.

In South Dakota, getting divorced is relatively inexpensive. The average cost of a divorce per person in the state, including court and lawyer fees, is $8,595 ? the 12th lowest among all states. Nationwide, the average cost of a divorce per person is $9,969.

Under South Dakota law a divorce may be granted for any of these grounds: adultery, extreme cruelty (including bodily injury or grievous mental suffering), willful desertion, willful neglect, habitual intemperance, conviction of a felony, chronic mental illness or irreconcilable differences.

(a) A court of this state has temporary emergency jurisdiction if the child is present in this state and the child has been abandoned or it is necessary in an emergency to protect the child because the child, or a sibling or parent of the child, is subjected to or threatened with mistreatment or abuse.