Alimony in South Carolina: what it is, how courts decide, and what to expect

Last updated 2026-07-09

What is alimony in South Carolina and who can get it?

Alimony in South Carolina is court-ordered support paid from one spouse to the other after separation or divorce. The point is to limit the financial hit to a spouse who earned less, stayed home with kids, or gave up a career for the marriage. Either spouse can get it. Gender does not matter under state law.

The governing statute is S.C. Code § 20-3-130. It lays out four types of alimony and 13 factors judges must consider before awarding any of them. ^[1] If you and your spouse agree on support terms in writing, the court will almost always honor that agreement without a hearing.

Here is what people get wrong. Alimony and child support are two separate things. Child support runs off its own formula under S.C. Code § 63-17-470. ^[2] Alimony is purely between spouses.

You can read how alimony works nationally, but South Carolina has local quirks, mostly around adultery, that make the state statute worth reading on its own.

What are the 4 types of alimony available in South Carolina?

South Carolina recognizes four types of alimony, and a judge is not required to award any of them. Periodic support is the most common. Lump-sum, rehabilitative, and reimbursement alimony each fit narrower situations.

Type	What it does	Typical duration
Periodic alimony	Regular payments (usually monthly) from one spouse to the other	Ongoing; ends on death, remarriage, or cohabitation
Lump-sum alimony	A fixed total paid all at once or in installments	Set at time of order; does not end on remarriage
Rehabilitative alimony	Supports a spouse while they gain education or job skills	Time-limited; usually 2-5 years
Reimbursement alimony	Repays a spouse who put the other through school or training	Paid back over a defined period

Periodic alimony can last decades in long marriages where one spouse has little earning potential. Rehabilitative alimony has grown more popular because courts like the idea of getting the recipient self-supporting on a clock. ^[1]

Lump-sum alimony has a quirk worth knowing. Because it is a fixed debt and not ongoing support, the paying spouse cannot stop payments if the recipient remarries. That makes it more predictable and, sometimes, more expensive for the payor.

Reimbursement alimony is the narrowest type. It shows up when one spouse worked to put the other through medical school, law school, or similar training, and the marriage ends before the supported spouse can pay that back through the marriage itself. Courts treat it as repaying an investment, not as ongoing support.

How do South Carolina judges decide the alimony amount?

There is no formula. Unlike child support, South Carolina has no alimony worksheet or calculator. The judge weighs 13 factors listed in S.C. Code § 20-3-130(C) and decides. ^[1] That is why two similar-looking marriages can end with very different awards.

The full list of statutory factors:

1. Duration of the marriage 2. Physical and emotional condition of each spouse 3. Educational background of each spouse, including whether more training is needed for the recipient to become self-supporting 4. Employment history and earning potential of each spouse 5. Standard of living established during the marriage 6. Current and anticipated earnings of both spouses 7. Current and anticipated expenses and needs 8. Marital and non-marital property awarded to each spouse 9. Custody of children (a parent with young children may have limited ability to work) 10. Marital misconduct or fault (this one is a big deal in South Carolina) 11. Tax consequences of the award 12. Prior support obligations from earlier relationships 13. Any other factor the court finds relevant and equitable

Length of marriage and the income gap between spouses usually carry the most weight in practice. A 25-year marriage where one spouse never worked outside the home lands nowhere near a 4-year marriage where both spouses held jobs.

The marital misconduct factor matters more here than in most states. More on that next.

Does adultery affect alimony in South Carolina?

Yes, and harder than almost anywhere else. A spouse who commits adultery before signing a formal separation agreement is barred from receiving alimony in South Carolina. That is a hard bar, not something the judge weighs and balances. ^[1]

S.C. Code § 20-3-130(A) states that "no alimony may be awarded to a spouse who commits adultery."

So if you had an affair before the separation agreement was signed and filed, you lose the right to request alimony, full stop. Length of marriage does not save it. Low income does not save it. Timing is everything here: adultery after both spouses sign a written separation agreement generally does not trigger the bar.

Fault also affects how much a payor owes. A judge who finds one spouse's conduct broke up the marriage can trim that payor's obligation, even when adultery is not the issue. Domestic violence, habitual drunkenness, physical cruelty, and desertion all count as marital misconduct the court can weigh.

This is one reason people hire a divorce lawyer even for cases they expect to settle. If fault is anywhere in the picture, getting advice before you sign anything can preserve rights you cannot get back later.

How long does alimony last in South Carolina?

It depends on the type of alimony and the length of the marriage. Periodic alimony has no fixed end date in the statute. Rehabilitative alimony comes with a built-in clock.

Judges set periodic alimony based on the circumstances, and it runs until one of four things happens: the paying spouse dies, the receiving spouse dies, the receiving spouse remarries, or the receiving spouse enters a "continued cohabitation" arrangement under S.C. Code § 20-3-150. ^[3]

Cohabitation means the recipient is living with a romantic or sexual partner. If that happens, the paying spouse can ask the court to end or reduce alimony. Judges look at shared finances, shared household duties, and whether the couple holds themselves out publicly as a couple.

Rehabilitative alimony ends when the recipient finishes a degree or training program. If the recipient makes no honest effort toward that goal, the paying spouse can ask the court to cut it off early.

One practical note on money. Periodic alimony from divorces finalized after 2018 is no longer deductible by the payor and no longer taxable to the recipient, under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. ^[4] That changed the math on negotiating support. Before 2019, the payor could deduct payments. Now they cannot.

Can alimony be modified or terminated after it is set?

Yes for periodic and rehabilitative alimony, if circumstances change substantially. Lump-sum alimony generally cannot be changed once it is ordered, because it is a fixed debt.

To ask for a change, the spouse seeking it files a motion in the family court that issued the original order. The judge then decides whether there has been a material change in circumstances, meaning something significant that was not foreseeable when the award was set. Job loss, serious illness, a large jump in the paying spouse's income, or a large drop in the recipient's expenses can all qualify.

Automatic termination events for periodic alimony under S.C. Code § 20-3-150:

• Death of either party
• Remarriage of the recipient
• Continued cohabitation of the recipient ^[3]

Stop paying without a court order and you are in contempt. South Carolina family courts have teeth: wage garnishment, bank levies, and jail for willful non-payment.

Get any change in writing through the court. A handshake deal between ex-spouses to skip or lower payments is not enforceable, and it can leave the payor owing every missed dollar later.

What is the difference between alimony and separate maintenance in South Carolina?

Separate maintenance is support paid during legal separation, before a divorce is final. South Carolina is one of the few states that still allows legal separation, officially called "separate maintenance and support," as its own status. ^[5]

Couples who do not want to divorce for religious or insurance reasons sometimes go this route. The family court can order one spouse to pay the other during the separation, using the same 13-factor analysis that governs alimony.

When the divorce is finalized, the court may convert separate maintenance into a formal alimony order, or the parties can negotiate something new at that point.

Agree on support during separation and you can put it in a written separation agreement without going to court. That agreement is enforceable as a contract.

Can spouses agree on alimony without going to court?

Yes, and this is the road most uncontested couples take. You write your terms into a marital settlement agreement (sometimes called a property settlement agreement), both spouses sign, and the family court folds it into the divorce decree.

Your settlement agreement can cover:

• How much alimony gets paid and how often
• How long it lasts
• What ends it early
• Whether either party can later ask for a modification

South Carolina courts prefer agreements over fights. As long as the terms are not unconscionable, meaning shockingly unfair, judges nearly always sign off.

You can also waive alimony entirely. If both spouses sign a written waiver, neither can come back later and claim they should have gotten support. This is common in short marriages or when both spouses earn about the same.

For couples doing their own paperwork, the settlement agreement is the document that matters most. DivorceClear sells a full document packet for $149 that includes settlement language for alimony, property division, and the rest, which is worth a look if you want to be sure nothing gets left out.

Before you sign anything, it helps to understand how divorce papers work and what you actually have to file.

How is alimony treated for taxes in South Carolina?

For divorces finalized after December 31, 2018, alimony is not deductible by the payor and not taxable to the recipient. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 flipped the old federal treatment. ^[4] South Carolina follows the federal rule, so post-2018 alimony is not deductible or taxable for state income tax either. ^[6]

Divorces finalized before January 1, 2019 keep the old rules: the payor deducts, the recipient reports it as income. That holds for the life of those older agreements unless they are formally modified.

This changes the negotiation. A $3,000 monthly payment now costs the payor the full $3,000 and gives the recipient the full $3,000, with no tax shift in between. Under the old rules, that same payment moved a chunk of the tax burden from payor to recipient, which made larger numbers easier to swallow. Some couples now find lump-sum settlements more attractive than ongoing monthly payments because of it.

What does it actually cost to get alimony decided in South Carolina?

If you and your spouse agree and put alimony in a settlement, your only real cost is the divorce filing fee. Fees vary by county but typically run $150 to $250 for the divorce itself. ^[7] Fight over alimony and the number climbs fast.

A contested alimony hearing means financial disclosure, often an expert witness like a vocational evaluator who assesses a spouse's earning capacity, and a lot of attorney hours. Contested South Carolina divorces where alimony is disputed can run each spouse $5,000 to $30,000 or more in attorney fees, depending on complexity. Those are honest ranges drawn from South Carolina Bar guidance, not guarantees. ^[8]

Path	Typical total cost
Agreed alimony in settlement (uncontested divorce)	$150-$250 filing fee + any document prep cost
Mediated alimony agreement	$500-$2,000 for mediator (split between spouses)
Contested alimony hearing	$5,000-$30,000+ per spouse in attorney fees

The cheapest thing you can do is reach an agreement with your spouse before filing. Mediation is the sane middle when you are close but not quite there.

For national context on divorce and its costs, the divorce rate in America page has some benchmarks worth a look.

What are the residency requirements to file for divorce and request alimony in South Carolina?

At least one spouse must have lived in South Carolina for one year before filing if only one spouse lives in-state. If both spouses live in South Carolina, that drops to three months. ^[9] The same threshold applies to alimony, because alimony is handled inside the divorce action.

You cannot ask a South Carolina court for alimony without meeting the residency rule first.

South Carolina has no broad no-fault divorce. The only no-fault ground is living separate and apart for one year. ^[9] Fault grounds include adultery, physical cruelty, habitual drunkenness, and desertion. File on a fault ground, especially adultery, and the marital misconduct analysis for alimony comes into play right away.

Couples who have been separated a year and agree on everything have a fairly clean path. You file the complaint, attach the settlement agreement, and attend a short hearing. Some counties handle uncontested cases with no hearing at all.

How do South Carolina courts decide alimony when there are children involved?

Custody and child support are decided separately from alimony, but they lean on each other. A parent with primary physical custody of young children has limited ability to work full-time, and the court factors that into alimony under the ninth statutory factor, custody of children. ^[1]

Here is a concrete example. If one spouse gets primary custody of three kids under five, the judge may award higher alimony to make up for the earning limit during the years those children need intensive care, even if that spouse could otherwise earn a decent living.

To model child support next to alimony, the South Carolina Department of Social Services publishes the income shares worksheet the courts use. ^[2] A child support calculator can help you estimate those numbers before you negotiate.

One thing to know: paying alimony does not reduce your income for child support purposes in South Carolina. Both obligations run off gross income. So a spouse paying both alimony and child support carries the full weight of both, without the old federal tax deduction to soften the alimony piece.

Frequently asked questions

How long do you have to be married to get alimony in South Carolina?

There is no minimum marriage length in South Carolina law. Duration is one of the 13 factors judges weigh under S.C. Code § 20-3-130(C). In practice, marriages under three years rarely produce alimony unless something unusual happened, like one spouse giving up a high-earning career. Longer marriages, especially over 10 years, are where substantial awards become common.

Can a husband get alimony in South Carolina?

Yes. South Carolina law does not limit alimony by gender. Either spouse can request and receive it based on the 13 statutory factors. What matters is the income gap between spouses, the length of the marriage, and each spouse's earning capacity, not who is the husband or wife. Courts regularly award alimony to husbands whose wives earned significantly more during the marriage.

What is the adultery rule for alimony in South Carolina?

A spouse who commits adultery before signing a formal separation agreement is completely barred from receiving alimony. This is a hard statutory bar under S.C. Code § 20-3-130(A), not something the judge balances against other factors. Timing matters: adultery after both parties sign a written separation agreement generally does not trigger the bar. This is one of the strictest adultery-alimony rules in the country.

Is alimony taxable in South Carolina?

For divorces finalized after December 31, 2018, alimony is not deductible for the paying spouse and not taxable to the recipient, under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. South Carolina follows this federal treatment for state income tax. For divorces finalized before 2019, the old rules still apply: the payor deducts, the recipient reports it as income, unless the agreement has been formally modified.

What terminates alimony in South Carolina?

Periodic alimony ends automatically on the death of either party, the remarriage of the recipient, or the recipient's continued cohabitation with a romantic partner under S.C. Code § 20-3-150. Lump-sum alimony does not end on remarriage because it is a fixed debt. Rehabilitative alimony ends when the defined education or training goal is met, or earlier if the recipient makes no honest effort toward it.

Can I waive alimony in a South Carolina divorce settlement?

Yes. Both spouses can agree in writing to waive alimony, and South Carolina courts will honor that waiver as long as it was signed voluntarily and is not unconscionably unfair. Once waived in a finalized divorce decree, alimony generally cannot be reopened. This is common in short marriages, marriages with similar incomes, or cases where the settlement trades higher property division for a clean alimony waiver.

How do I modify alimony in South Carolina after the divorce is final?

File a motion to modify in the family court that issued the original order. You must show a material change in circumstances since that order, such as job loss, serious illness, or a significant income change. The court holds a hearing and decides whether to change the amount or duration. Lump-sum alimony is not modifiable. Informal deals between ex-spouses to change payments are not legally binding.

What is separate maintenance and support in South Carolina?

Separate maintenance is court-ordered support paid between spouses who are legally separated but not yet divorced. South Carolina allows legal separation as its own status, making it one of the fewer states with this option. The court uses the same 13-factor analysis as for alimony. Couples use it while waiting out the one-year separation period, or when they choose not to divorce for religious or insurance reasons.

Does cohabitation end alimony in South Carolina?

It can. If the recipient enters a continued cohabitation arrangement, the paying spouse can petition the court to end or reduce periodic alimony under S.C. Code § 20-3-150. Courts look at whether the couple shares finances, splits household duties, and holds themselves out publicly as a couple. Simply having a boyfriend or girlfriend does not automatically end alimony; the paying spouse has to file and prove cohabitation.

Can we handle alimony ourselves without going to court in South Carolina?

Yes. If both spouses agree on the terms, you write them into a marital settlement agreement, both sign, and the family court folds it into the divorce decree at the final hearing. You skip the contested hearing entirely. The agreement can cover the amount, duration, termination conditions, and whether either party can seek a future modification. Courts almost always approve reasonable agreements between spouses.

Is alimony the same as spousal support in South Carolina?

The terms mean the same thing. South Carolina statutes use "alimony" and also reference "spousal support" in some procedural spots, but both describe court-ordered support from one spouse to the other. Some people say "maintenance," which again means the same concept. The formal statutory framework lives under the word "alimony" in S.C. Code § 20-3-130.

What financial documents do I need to bring to an alimony hearing in South Carolina?

South Carolina family courts require both spouses to file a Financial Declaration form listing income, monthly expenses, assets, and debts. Beyond that, bring two to three years of tax returns, recent pay stubs, bank statements, retirement account statements, and documentation of unusual expenses like medical bills. If earning capacity is disputed, the court may allow a vocational evaluator as an expert witness.

How does a judge decide how much alimony to pay in South Carolina?

There is no formula. Judges weigh all 13 factors in S.C. Code § 20-3-130(C), including length of marriage, each spouse's earning capacity, the marital standard of living, marital misconduct, tax consequences, and custody. In practice, the biggest drivers are the income gap between spouses, the length of the marriage, and whether one spouse gave up career advancement. Awards vary widely, and the courts publish no statewide average.

Sources

1. South Carolina Legislature, S.C. Code § 20-3-130, Alimony, separate maintenance and support: South Carolina's four types of alimony and 13 statutory factors judges must consider, including the bar on alimony for adulterous spouses
2. South Carolina Department of Social Services, Child Support Guidelines: South Carolina uses an income shares model under S.C. Code § 63-17-470 for child support, separate from alimony calculations
3. South Carolina Legislature, S.C. Code § 20-3-150, Termination of alimony: Periodic alimony terminates automatically on death, remarriage, or continued cohabitation of the recipient
4. IRS, Topic No. 452, Alimony and Separate Maintenance: Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, alimony in divorces finalized after December 31, 2018 is not deductible by the payor and not taxable to the recipient
5. South Carolina Legislature, S.C. Code § 20-3-110, Separate maintenance and support: South Carolina permits legal separation (separate maintenance and support) as a distinct court-ordered status separate from divorce
6. South Carolina Department of Revenue, Individual Income Tax: South Carolina conforms to federal tax treatment for alimony, meaning post-2018 alimony is not deductible or includable for state income tax purposes
7. South Carolina Judicial Branch, Family Court Filing Fees: Filing fees in South Carolina family court vary by county and typically run approximately $150 to $250 for a divorce action
8. South Carolina Bar, Lawyer Referral Service and Public Resources: Contested divorce cases in South Carolina where alimony is disputed can cost each spouse $5,000 to $30,000 or more in attorney fees depending on complexity
9. South Carolina Legislature, S.C. Code § 20-3-60, Grounds for divorce; residency requirements: One spouse must be a South Carolina resident for at least one year before filing if only one spouse lives in-state; three months if both spouses reside in South Carolina; the only no-fault ground is one year of living separate and apart
10. South Carolina Judicial Branch, Family Court Self-Help Resources: South Carolina courts provide self-help resources for pro se litigants filing family court matters including divorce and support