What Is Abandonment in a Marriage in SC?

Unfortunately, about 40% of first-time marriages do not succeed. In such situations, divorce becomes the most practical and safest option. You need not navigate that challenge alone. Our duty as attorneys is to guide and assist you through the divorce, beginning with this article.

Today, we’ll define what abandonment means in a marriage in South Carolina. Next, we’ll dive into the grounds of divorce in this state and the legal requirement to prove each fact. We’ll also assess the difference between abandonment and separation. Let’s get started.

What is Abandonment in a Marriage?

According to SC divorce laws,  abandonment means living apart from your spouse without consent or lawful justification for one year or more. It also requires you to show that the deserting spouse has no intention of resuming  cohabitation or returning to your marital home. Abandonment is one of the grounds you can rely on when filing for a divorce in SC. South Carolina has two categories of divorce — at-fault and no-fault . Abandonment is fault-based.

What Are the Grounds for Divorce in SC?

Fault-based divorce requires you to prove wrongdoing on your spouse’s part. No-fault divorces are mutually agreed upon when couples cannot reconcile their differences. Though the law does not require you to prove fault or misconduct in such situations, you may need to litigate matters such as child support,  child custody ,  alimony and  What is Abandonment in a Marriage?

The four grounds for at-fault divorces are habitual drunkenness, adultery, physical cruelty and desertion.

1. Habitual Drunkenness

You can rely on habitual drunkenness when your marriage breaks down due to your spouse’s intoxication. Within this context, “drunkenness” could be any form of substance abuse, whether drugs or alcohol. You must have sufficient evidence to persuade the court to make an order to dissolve the marriage. Such documentation may include video or audio recordings, pictures, DUI records and other police reports.

Besides documentation, witness testimonies and your firsthand knowledge of the circumstances may be relevant. The evidence you tender in court must satisfy the following conditions:

• Your spouse abuses substances.
• The intoxication is habitual.
• Substance abuse caused your marriage’s breakdown.

Let’s paint a clearer picture with practical scenarios. If your spouse drinks beer daily, that does not automatically entitle you to file for divorce based on their drinking. To succeed, you must sufficiently establish their alcohol consumption is chronic and excessive, they cannot resist the urge to drink and your marriage is non-functional as a result.

2. Adultery

If your spouse cheats on you, you can file for fault divorce. The affair could be one-time or a series of events. It’s essential to commence divorce proceedings promptly — otherwise, a judge may rule you’ve pardoned your spouse.

You may rely on direct or circumstantial evidence to prove adultery. What does this mean? Evidence is direct if you caught your spouse in the act. However, the odds of that happening are low. Alternatively, the court allows pieces of evidence that establish infidelity when put together. In other words, proving motive and opportunity may be sufficient. You may rely on witness testimony, videos and photographs to prove adultery.

3. Physical Cruelty

You can file for divorce in SC when your spouse threatens or maltreats your person. In other words, causing severe physical injury or threat to life is grounds for divorce. The law protects people from harm, even in marriages. A single cruel act is sufficient, especially if it causes you to fear for your life. There’s no need to show physical contact or harm. It suffices if the act:

• Is life-threatening
• Constitutes an intention to cause severe bodily harm
• Involves a foreseeable risk of serious bodily injury

To prove physical cruelty, you can rely on testimonies, admissions and any form of documentary evidence, and you must establish your case on the “balance of probabilities.”

Emotional abuse poses mental and physical challenges to spouses. Unfortunately, the law has yet to catch up with societal development in this regard. Unless you can fit it within the context of physical cruelty, emotional abuse alone is insufficient grounds for divorce in South Carolina.

4. Abandonment

Abandonment laws in SC require you to prove that your spouse left the marital home for one year or more immediately before you filed for divorce. The law also requires you to establish that the separation is without your consent and that the facts plainly show the departing spouse has no intention of returning home. You must also establish that your spouse provided no support during that period.

What’s the Difference Between Separation and Desertion?

Separation is technically different from desertion. While abandonment divorce cases in SC are fault-based, separation does not require fault on the part of either spouse. The court will grant an order for legal separation when you’re continuously “separate and apart” from your spouse for one year with mutual consent due to irreconcilable differences. The time starts counting the moment you decide to live apart.

You may begin the divorce process during your one-year mandatory period with an  Order of Separate Maintenance and Support . The order covers matters such as child custody, visitation, support and maintenance of marital properties. Seeking this order is not mandatory, but it can help you protect your financial interests within that one-year waiting period.

In South Carolina, a spouse’s conduct may influence the distribution of marital property and the determination of alimony. Since desertion constitutes misconduct, it becomes advantageous to the innocent spouse. Equally, a spouse’s decision to leave their partner and children behind is a strong argument for child custody.

Filing for a no-fault divorce in SC requires you to prove the yearlong separation. While it’s ideal to have an independent witness to testify to the fact, it’s sufficient to have any other form of evidence that corroborates your story.

Learn More About Lauren Taylor Law and Our Legal Services

Marriages sometimes turn out differently than expected. The law makes room for divorce so parties can move on happily with their lives. In South Carolina, the grounds for divorce fall into the categories of at-fault and no-fault. Fault-based divorce requires you to show some form of misconduct on your spouse’s part. That is not the case in no-fault divorces. Fault-based grounds for divorce include abandonment, physical cruelty, habitual drunkenness and adultery.

Divorce based on abandonment requires you to show that your spouse has deserted you for one year or longer without your consent and intends to remain permanently outside your marital home. Abandonment differs from separation, which demands no proof of fault or misconduct.

Lauren Taylor Law is an experienced and recognized family law practice in South Carolina, passionate about helping spouses through marital and family challenges. Do you want to learn more about our services? Contact us today!