Going Through a Second Divorce in South Carolina (2026 Guide)

Going through a second divorce in South Carolina follows the same legal framework as a first divorce: a $150 filing fee, a one-year separation for no-fault grounds, and a mandatory 90-day waiting period before any decree. The key difference is financial complexity—prior alimony obligations, blended-family assets, and the statistically higher 60% divorce rate for remarriages.

This guide explains how South Carolina family courts handle second divorces, including how a prior support obligation affects equitable distribution under S.C. Code § 20-3-620, when alimony from a first marriage ends, and what filing a second divorce actually costs in 2026. Antonio G. Jimenez, Esq. (Florida Bar No. 21022, covering South Carolina divorce law) wrote this resource for informational purposes; it is not legal advice.

Key Facts: Second Divorce in South Carolina (2026)

Filing fees and court costs are accurate as of March 2026. Verify with your local clerk before filing.

What Is Different About a Second Divorce in South Carolina?

A second divorce in South Carolina uses identical procedural law as a first divorce, but introduces financial layers a first divorce rarely has: prior alimony obligations, blended-family property, and pre-marriage assets brought into the second marriage. The procedural cost is the same $150 filing fee, but the dispute risk is statistically higher because roughly 60% of second marriages end in divorce.

The legal mechanics do not change because you have been married before. You still file a Summons and Complaint for Divorce, cite a statutory ground under S.C. Code § 20-3-10, and wait the mandatory 90 days under § 20-3-80. What changes is the factual record the family court must untangle. A second divorce frequently involves retirement accounts, real estate, and business interests that each spouse owned before remarriage, plus ongoing payments tied to a first divorce. South Carolina judges treat each marriage as a separate legal event, so assets and debts from your first marriage generally remain separate—unless they were commingled into the second marriage's marital estate.

How Much Does a Second Divorce Cost in South Carolina?

The filing fee for a second divorce in South Carolina is $150, paid to the Clerk of Court when you submit your Summons and Complaint. This fee is identical to a first divorce and consistent across all 46 South Carolina counties. The defendant pays no fee to file an answer or response.

The $150 court filing fee is only the baseline. Total cost depends on whether the case is contested. An uncontested second divorce—where both spouses agree on property, alimony, and any children—can be completed for a few hundred dollars in court costs plus limited attorney time. A contested second divorce involving prior support obligations, blended assets, or custody disputes commonly runs into thousands of dollars in attorney fees because the financial record is more complex.

Low-income filers may request a fee waiver by filing Form SCCA/400 (Motion and Affidavit to Proceed In Forma Pauperis) if household income falls below 125% of the federal poverty level. Filing fees and court costs are accurate as of March 2026; verify current amounts with your county Clerk of Court before filing.

Residency and Grounds for a Second Divorce

South Carolina requires the plaintiff to have lived in the state for one year before filing, or three months if both spouses are South Carolina residents, under S.C. Code § 20-3-30. A second divorce must cite the same statutory grounds as any divorce: four fault grounds or one no-fault ground.

Under S.C. Code § 20-3-10, the grounds for divorce are: (1) adultery; (2) desertion for one year; (3) physical cruelty; (4) habitual drunkenness, including drug use; and (5) living separate and apart without cohabitation for one year. The fifth ground is South Carolina's only no-fault option. If the plaintiff is a nonresident, the defendant must have lived in South Carolina for one year. Active-duty military stationed in South Carolina meet the residency test through continuous presence, regardless of intent to remain permanently.

For the no-fault ground, spouses must maintain completely separate residences for 365 uninterrupted days. Sleeping in separate bedrooms within the same home does not count. If the couple reconciles and resumes living together, the one-year clock resets to zero. South Carolina does not recognize legal separation; instead, an Action for Separate Support and Maintenance serves a similar function.

How Property Is Divided in a Second Divorce

South Carolina divides marital property through equitable distribution under S.C. Code § 20-3-620, applying 15 statutory factors. Equitable means fair, not automatically equal. In a second divorce, the court explicitly weighs any prior support obligations from a first marriage as one of those 15 factors when apportioning the marital estate.

The family court follows a four-step process: (1) identify all marital and non-marital property; (2) determine fair market value of the marital property; (3) apportion the estate using the 15 factors in § 20-3-620; and (4) distribute it equitably. Two factors matter enormously in second marriages. First, the statute directs courts to consider "the existence and extent of any support obligations, from a prior marriage or for any other reason." Second, the court weighs whether separate maintenance or alimony has already been awarded.

Assets owned before the second marriage generally remain non-marital property and are not divided—unless they were commingled. For example, depositing a pre-marriage inheritance into a joint account or using it to buy a jointly titled home can convert separate property into marital property subject to division. Because second marriages often involve substantial pre-marriage retirement accounts and real estate, careful tracing of asset origins is central to protecting them.

How a Prior Alimony Obligation Affects Your Second Divorce

If you already pay alimony from a first divorce, South Carolina family courts count that obligation when deciding both property division and new alimony in your second divorce. Under S.C. Code § 20-3-620 and § 20-3-130, prior support obligations are an express statutory factor the judge must weigh, which can reduce a new alimony award.

Alimony is governed separately from property division. Under S.C. Code § 20-3-130(C), the court considers 13 factors when awarding alimony, including the duration of the marriage, the parties' ages, the standard of living established during the marriage, marital and non-marital property, marital misconduct, and any prior support obligations from another marriage. A paying spouse with an existing first-marriage alimony order generally has less disposable income, which the court factors into whether and how much new alimony is appropriate.

South Carolina recognizes several alimony types with different rules. Periodic alimony terminates on the supported spouse's remarriage or continued cohabitation, or on either spouse's death, and is modifiable. Lump-sum alimony terminates only on the supported spouse's death and is not modifiable. Reimbursement alimony ends on remarriage or cohabitation but cannot be modified for changed circumstances.

When Alimony From Your First Marriage Ends

Alimony from a first marriage ends automatically when the supported spouse remarries. Under S.C. Code § 20-3-150 and § 20-3-130(B)(6), periodic alimony terminates upon remarriage, the death of either spouse, or continued cohabitation with a romantic partner for 90 or more consecutive days.

This rule directly affects second marriages. If you receive periodic alimony from a first divorce and then remarry, those payments stop by operation of law—remarriage is an automatic termination event requiring no court action. The same applies if you move in with a new romantic partner for 90 consecutive days, defined by § 20-3-150 as "continued cohabitation." The statute even allows courts to find cohabitation where partners deliberately separate for short periods to dodge the 90-day threshold.

There is a critical procedural difference between remarriage and cohabitation. Remarriage terminates alimony automatically. Cohabitation does not; the paying spouse must file a modification petition in the family court that issued the original decree and prove cohabitation through evidence such as a shared residence, commingled finances, and joint activities. If your second marriage later ends in divorce, the first-marriage alimony does not revive—once terminated by remarriage, it is gone permanently.

The Second Divorce Timeline in South Carolina

A second divorce in South Carolina takes a minimum of 90 days from filing to final decree under S.C. Code § 20-3-80, the same mandatory waiting period as a first divorce. An uncontested second divorce typically finalizes in 3 to 4 months, while a contested case involving prior obligations or blended assets can extend to 12 to 24 months.

The 90-day waiting period applies to every divorce, including fault-based filings where no separation period is required. The statute also bars scheduling a final hearing (called a "reference") until at least 60 days after filing. For a no-fault second divorce, the timeline stacks: you must first complete the 365-day separation, then file your complaint, then wait the additional 90 days. For a fault-based second divorce, the 90 days is essentially the only statutory wait once the ground exists.

South Carolina also imposes an outer deadline. Under administrative court rules, you must request a final hearing within 365 days of filing or the judge may dismiss your case, and any temporary orders expire with it. The final hearing itself usually lasts 15 to 30 minutes, during which one spouse testifies to the grounds and settlement terms, and the judge issues the decree. A decree becomes final 30 days after the judge signs it if no appeal is filed.

Why Second Marriages End in Divorce More Often

Approximately 60% of second marriages in the United States end in divorce, compared with roughly 35-40% of first marriages, and the rate climbs to about 73% for third marriages. South Carolina couples remarrying after a first divorce face this elevated statistical risk, which makes financial planning—including prenuptial agreements—particularly valuable for a second marriage.

Researchers attribute the higher second-marriage divorce rate to several factors: blended-family stress, unresolved patterns from a first marriage, financial pressures from supporting children across two households, and the practical reality that people who divorce once are statistically more willing to divorce again. According to Pew Research Center, about 66% of divorced adults eventually remarry, and 46% of remarried divorced adults have had a child with their new spouse—adding parenting complexity to second-marriage finances.

These statistics are widely cited but trace largely to secondary sources rather than fresh federal data, so treat the precise percentages as estimates. The practical takeaway for South Carolina remarrying couples is concrete: because equitable distribution under S.C. Code § 20-3-620 heavily weighs the length of the marriage and pre-marriage assets, a prenuptial agreement protecting separate property is a reasonable precaution before a second marriage, given the elevated dissolution rate.

Comparing First vs. Second Divorce in South Carolina