Source: http://www.upstatefamilylawblog.com/category/financial-issues-in-marriage/
Timestamp: 2018-02-21 12:52:56
Document Index: 651689576

Matched Legal Cases: ['§20', '§20', '§20', '§20', '§20', '§20']

January 6, 2015 By Tripp Atkins 1 Comment
Alimony is a hot topic in many South Carolina divorce cases, but many times spouses ask for it in order to punish their spouse for some bad deeds committed during the marriage. So what is alimony?
Alimony is defined as “a substitute for the support which is normally incident to the marital relationship” Lide v. Lide, 277 SC 155 (1981). What does that mean? It means that while the couple is together they have some expectation that there is some mutual financial support for the marriage. When the marriage is ending and the parties separate alimony helps the spouse with the smaller income to have a similar lifestyle to that which he/she became accustomed to during the marriage.
SC Code §20-3-130(A) states that the Family Court may award alimony “in such amounts and for such term as the court considers appropriate as from the circumstances of the parties and the nature of case”. Essentially what that means is that the Family Court Judge who is deciding the case has a lot of discretion to determine the amount of alimony that is awarded. Unlike child support, there is no calculator or formula for the court to use to determine an amount.
In general, the statute outlines four different types of alimony that can be awarded by the Court in SC Code §20-3-130(B):
(1) Periodic alimony. This is alimony that is paid every month on an ongoing basis and is generally thought to be permanent. This type of alimony will only end when the receiving spouse remarries or on their continued cohabitation or either spouse dies. This alimony therefore may be terminated and is modifiable upon a showing of a substantial change in circumstances.
(2) Lump-sum alimony is a set amount of money that is paid as alimony and not as a property division. It can be paid in one lump sum or it can be paid out in installments over time, but the end amount that is paid is fixed. For example, Husband agrees to pay Wife the sum of $100,000 in lump sum alimony. He can write her a check for $100,000 or they could agree for him to pay $10,000 per month for 10 months. This type of alimony is not modifiable and is only terminable upon the death of the supported spouse.
(3) Rehabilitative alimony is another fixed sum of alimony that is paid in installments and is used in many cases to help the supported spouse financially while he/she obtains new training or completes their education that will allow them to become self-supporting. This type of alimony is terminable on the remarriage or continued cohabitation of the supported spouse and the death of either spouse, or when a certain event happens in the future (e.g. the supported spouse graduates from college). This type of alimony is also modifiable when an unforeseen event occurs that prevents the supported spouse from becoming self-supporting or if it frustrates the ability of the supporting spouse to continue to pay.
(4) Reimbursement alimony can be paid in a lump sum or in installments and will end on the remarriage or continued cohabitation of the supported spouse, or upon the death of either spouse. This alimony will not end and cannot be modified based upon changed circumstances in the future. The statute describes this form of alimony as an options the the Court believes it is “desirable to reimburse the supported spouse from the future earnings of the payor spouse based upon circumstances or events that occurred during the marriage.” A good example of this is when one spouse dutifully supports the other spouse as they go through medical school. Once the doctor spouse graduates from medical school and begins to earn some substantial income he/she decides to divorce the spouse that supported him/her through school. This allows the non-doctor spouse the opportunity to benefit from the investment they made into the family’s future income.
Factors Considered by the Family Court to Determine Alimony in South Carolina
SC Code §20-3-130(C) sets forth the factors that the Family Court must consider when determining whether to award alimony and how much alimony should be awarded:
Filed Under: Alimony, Financial Issues in Marriage Tagged With: alimony in divorce, alimony in south carolina, how do i get alimony, how much alimony will i pay, how much alimony will I receive, sc divorce alimony
October 22, 2014 By Tripp Atkins Leave a Comment
Question: My husband has deserted me and refuses to help me financially. He has moved in with his mistress and won’t have any contact with me! How do I file for spousal support? He is refusing to help me.
Answer: You should consult with a lawyer immediately so that you can move forward with the Family Court to get some immediate relief. Unfortunately, the only way to obtain the relief you are seeking is to file an action with the Family Court for divorce/separation and request this relief through a Motion for Temporary Relief. I strongly suggest hiring a lawyer because alimony is a complex issue and there are some strict procedural rules about what the Court may consider at a temporary hearing and if you do not comply with those rules you may forfeit your rights or just plain miss out on relief you are entitled to.
In South Carolina you have the option to file for divorce using one of five grounds (physical abuse, habitual drunkenness, adultery, desertion, or continuous separation for more than one year). You also have the alternative to file for separate support and maintenance which is similar to a legal separation. Those are essentially your keys to the courthouse. No matter which way you file, you will be able to ask the court to award you immediate relief such as alimony/spousal support, custody of minor children, child support, use of the marital home, health insurance coverage, etc.
The family court will consider multiple factors in determining whether to award you alimony or not, and then if it does determine that you are eligible for support the Court will determine how much to award. The factors considered will be things like your ages, physical and mental health, employment history, income history, why you are currently unemployed (e.g. agreement to stay at home and raise the children), other assets you have, tax implications, length of the marriage, and a few more.
As a side note and warning, I would encourage you to file something sooner rather than later. The longer you go without financial assistance from your spouse, the more it appears that it is not needed. While that is not a specific factor considered by the Court it could be relevant and a long term separation without a request for support could make it unlikely that you would be awarded support.
To learn more about Temporary Hearings, check out these posts:
Filed Under: Alimony, Financial Issues in Marriage Tagged With: alimony, financial support, spousal support, what should i file, what to do
July 18, 2014 By Tripp Atkins 4 Comments
There are two main division methods in divorce law nationwide: community property and equitable apportionment states. South Carolina is an equitable apportionment state. So, what does that mean?
Equitable Apportionment means that South Carolina Family Courts have jurisdiction in a divorce case to divide up the marital assets and debts acquired during the marriage. Our Code of Laws state that, during a marriage, spouses acquire a special equity and ownership right in the marital property and those rights are subject to apportionment between the spouses. (See SC Code §20-3-610).
To break down that definition a little further it will be helpful to define marital property. SC Code §20-3-630 defines marital property as all real and personal property acquired by the parties during the marriage which is owned as of the date of filing or commencement of marital litigation regardless of how legal title is held. So it doesn’t matter that the home is only in the husband’s name or that the Wife is the only spouse who contributed to a 401(k) during the marriage.
Of course there are exceptions to every rule. Property obtained by inheritance, devise, bequest, or gift from a party other than the spouse, property owned prior to the marriage, and property acquired after a temporary order is entered, a marital settlement agreement is executed, or a final order of property settlement is entered.
The first step the Family Court will take is to identify all of the marital property. Once the marital property has been identified the court will determine how to divide the assets between the spouses. SC Code §20-3-620 identifies 15 factors that the Family Court must consider in determining how to apportion the marital property among the spouses. Those factors include things such as the length of the marriage, the ages of the parties at the time of the marriage and at the time of the divorce, the income and income potential of each party, the marital misconduct or fault of either party (meaning someone has committed adultery, physically abused a spouse, or is addicted to narcotic drugs or alcohol), the health of the parties, the non-marital assets of the parties, and several other factors.
It is not uncommon for the Family Court to issue an order of apportioning the marital property in a 50/50 (equal) manner between the spouses. But, it is not mandatory that the Family Court divide the marital property equally between spouses. In cases where one spouse contributed significantly greater in the financial area of a marriage, the court may deviate and award a greater portion of the marital estate to that spouse.
Filed Under: Divorce, Financial Issues in Marriage, Property Division