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This is a hard question to answer because it contains many variables. But, I can help provide some general guidelines so you can get an idea of how long the typical uncontested divorce takes in South Carolina.
Like I mentioned in a previous post, I practice primarily in Greenville County, South Carolina so I can speak more authoritatively on how long it takes in Greenville. Most other counties will have similar time frames, but they do vary from county to county.
This also assumes that your case is truly uncontested, meaning you and your spouse agree that there are no issues for the court to resolve except for actualy divorce (i.e. no property to separate, no children together, or you have reached a written agreement on all of these issues).
First, the complaint is prepared by the attorney and filed with the Family Court. Once the complaint is returned by the Court, it must be served on your spouse. This can be done in person or by certified mail. It could also be done by publication, but that complicates things a little for this post. Look for a post about service by publication coming out soon. It may take a week or two to get the paperwork prepared and ready for service. Then, depending on the procedure used for serving your spouse, it may take a day or so or possibly weeks. In many uncontested divorce matters the spouse will come to my office to be served by my paralegal which is much quicker.
Once your spouse is served with the paperwork, he or she will have 30 days to answer or they will be considered to be in “default.” If they agree with everything in the complaint, they will be able to sign an answer that says they agree with everything and we can request a hearing.
At this point we are at the mercy of the court and we must wait on them to schedule our case on the court docket. This part could take six weeks or longer to get scheduled. This time varies widely from county to county depending on the number of family court judges the county has, the time of year, and the number of other cases going on at the time.
Once your case is set, we will go to a Final Hearing and you will be divorced. Typically, a truly uncontested case where everyone agrees and works together takes about three months. I have seen them happen faster, and I have seen them take much longer. I hope this helps give you an idea of how long your case might take.
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Great Post.
What if your spouse is unable to be found? I have been seperated for years and I know the divorce would be uncontested, but I have no idea where he could be.
Hi Jordan,
Thanks for your comment. If your spouse is unable to be located you can file for divorce in the county where you live and request to serve your spouse with the divorce papers by publication. This process involves you doing a search for your husband where you exhaust all avenues of trying to find him. At the conclusion of your search you prepare an affidavit of what you have done to attempt to locate your spouse. At that time you file a motion with the family court to allow the service by publication. A family court judge must approve the publication request before this is valid service. After that, the publication is is run as a classified legal ad once per week for three weeks. Then there is a 30 day waiting period. After that, you can proceed on through your divorce as if you had served your spouse any other way. I hope that helps!
As always, I need to do my ethical duty as an attorney and let you know that this blog is meant to provide general legal information and not specific advice or information for your particular situation. Before relying on any information from this site, you should consult a competent attorney to discuss the specifics of your case.
In a uncontested divorce do I have to be there for the final hearing. He drinks so I really want out as soon as possible..
Hi Marie,
Thank you for the question and I’m sorry that you are having to contemplate leaving your marriage. An uncontested divorce means that there are no issues (child custody, visitation, support, alimony, and division of property and debts) and is typically filed on the grounds of more than one yard continuous separation rather than a fault-based ground. If you file for divorce you must be present at the final hearing in order to get a divorce. You must also have a t least one witness who can corroborate your divorce grounds.
I hope that helps!
Tripp
I am preparing the papers for a friends divorce. He hasn’t seen her in 20 years (he didn’t know they were still married) She can’t be found. Do I give the motion for publication along with the complaint for divorce papers…at the same time? Also, the affidavit showing you have exhausted all means, is there a form for that?
It doesn’t seem to me that the Financial Declaration Form would matter in this case but maybe so??
Thank you
Dana
PS sorry for being a pain
Hi Dana,
Thanks for your question. Typically, I prepare the motion for publication and associated documents after I have filed the action because the judge usually wants us to attempt to serve the defendant before requesting to serve by publication. There is no formal form the affidavit needs to be in. I would recommend type-written and double spaced to make it easier for the Judge to read. I would prepare a financial declaration for the event that the Judge at the final hearing might ask for it. Typically, if there are no financial issues or issues surrounding a child there is not a reason for a financial declaration but being caught unprepared would be bad.
DISCLAIMER: I need to do my ethical duty as an attorney and let you know that this blog is meant to provide general legal information and not specific advice or information for your particular situation. Before relying on any information from this site, you should consult a competent attorney to discuss the specifics of your case.
I have an uncontested divorce. All child support and custody has been agreed upon. I don’t expect my spouse to show up at the final hearing. Does she have to be there for the final hearing? If she doesn’t show will I still be awarded the divorce.
Hi Monte,
You will be able to have your divorce finalized without your wife being present; however, be sure that you have any witnesses there you need to corrorborate your case. For instance, if you are getting a divorce on the grounds of being separated for more than one year continuously, then you should make sure that you have a witness that has known you for at least one year who can confirm that.
My huband has been in federal prison for over 1 year. He will be getting out on December 1. I want to get a divorce as soon as possible. It will be uncontested. When can I start this process? Do I have to wait for him to get out of prison? How long will it take? I really do not want him around when he gets out.
Thanks for your question. Depending on when you and your husband separated, you could proceed with the divorce while he is still incarcerated. In South Carolina, you must be able to prove that the separation was voluntary. That means if you and he were still happily married and living together when he was put in jail, then the one year separation has not started yet and will start once he gets out of jail. If, however, you were separated when he went to jail, you can serve him papers now and start the process. If the case is uncontested and he signs off on all of the papers, you can move ahead. If he does not sign the papers, then you could be responsible for paying for a Guardian ad Litem to represent his interest since he is incarcerated and cannot retain his own attorney. I hope this helps!
My wife and I have been married since December and she just found out that we are 9 weeks pregnant with child. We have nothing in common. And we’ve agreed to get a divorce. We have no assets together. Are we eligible for a uncontested divorce? We want nothing from one another just to move on. And another question, do we qualify for an annulment? We need this done as soon as possible. We live in the Summerville area. Thank you much.
David,
Thanks for your comment. You probably do not qualify for an annulment – those are pretty difficult to obtain in SC – especially after you have lived together. An uncontested divorce means you have no issues to decide (either because there are no children, property, debts, assetes, etc.) or because you and your wife have worked everything out together and have a separation agreement. Also, the divorce is typically filed on the no-fault ground of living separate and apart for more than one year. I would suggest that you consult with an attorney in Summerville to assist you with the specifics of your case.
DISCLAIMER: I need to do my ethical duty as an attorney and let you know that this blog is meant to provide general legal information and not specific advice or information for your particular situation. Before relying on any information from this site, you should consult a competent attorney to discuss the specifics of your case.
My wife and I separated two weeks ago. She wants to live in Ohio and is currently doing so with my son. We have lived here for the past 6 years in SC. The laws of Ohio are way different than the laws here in SC especially when it comes to visitation rights. I am wondering when can I file for divorce here. The laws in Ohio state she has to be a resident for 6 months before she can file there. I am hoping to be able to file here before she does so the proceedings are under SC law and not Ohio. Can I do that? What is my time frame? I know nothing is settled for at least one year but I want to make sure I file as soon as I possibly can.