Get Sc Scca 400.03 Srl-div 2009-2025

Preparing Your Divorce Forms the Complaint for Divorce. a Summons for Divorce. a Financial Declaration (which must be signed in front of a notary) the Family Court Cover Sheet, and. a Certificate of Exemption.

If you want to get a divorce without your spouse's consent in South Carolina, in most cases, you will have to show that you meet one of the state's four legally recognized grounds for an at-fault divorce. Those grounds are: Your spouse committed adultery.

Any third party, such as a sheriff or a process server, who is 18 years or older can hand-deliver the divorce forms to your spouse. By sending the paperwork to your spouse by certified mail, return receipt requested (your spouse has to sign for the mail they received).

South Carolina allows you to serve your spouse personally, as long as you get an “Acceptance of Service” form signed by him or her and file it with the court. If you do not want to serve the papers personally, you can mail them by certified mail.

Once the case is filed, the other spouse is personally served with a certified copy of the Summons and Complaint. The spouse's attorney, if he or she has one, may accept service of the Summons and Complaint on behalf of his or her client.

In South Carolina, court documents including divorce petitions must be delivered in person to ensure that the recipient has been properly notified. Dodging the process server will result in the petitioner publishing a public notice, leaving the documents with family or friend, or both.

South Carolina does not require couples to formally file for separation before filing for divorce. However, couples must live separately from one another for one year prior to filing for a no-fault divorce.

Unless you manage to reach a settlement agreement along the way—usually with the help of lawyers—you'll eventually have to go to trial and have a judge resolve the disputes for you. All of that will add to the cost of your divorce, as well as how long it will take.