A spouse’s adultery is generally an absolute bar to alimony. See S.C. Code Ann. § 20-3-130(A) (“No alimony may be awarded a spouse who commits adultery before the earliest of these two events: (1) the formal signing of a written property or marital settlement agreement or (2) entry of a permanent order of separate maintenance and support or of a permanent order approving a property or marital settlement agreement between the parties.”).
However, adultery that has been condoned–conditionally forgiven–or is the result of connivance, does not act as a bar to an award of alimony. Recrimination, the defense that both parties are guilty of the same fault-divorce ground, does not remove adultery’s bar to alimony. See, Spires v. Spires, 296 S.C. 422, 373 S.E.2d 698 (Ct. App. 1988).
Court of Appeals reverses grant of visitation to grandparents
The February 12, 2025, Court of Appeals opinion in Dendy v. Gamble reversed a family court’s award of visitation to Grandparents. This opinion
I encounter litigants, and sometimes even attorneys, who rest on their pleadings and motions (including returns to motions) to support their requests for
On January 29, 2025, the South Carolina Supreme Court proposed an amendment to Rule 21, SCFCR, to the South Carolina General Assembly. If