Which Family Court hears your case is decided by S.C. Code § 20-3-60, not by your ZIP code. Hall & Means represents clients in all three.
North Charleston sits in three counties, so the Family Court that hears a divorce filed here is set by South Carolina venue law rather than by an address label. This page covers venue, the three courthouses, filing mechanics, cost, and military divorce at Joint Base Charleston (now Joint Base Lindsey Graham).
North Charleston spans three counties — Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester — so a divorce filed from a North Charleston address can be heard in any of three Family Courts, or in another county altogether. Which court is set by statute, S.C. Code § 20-3-60, not by your ZIP code. Hall & Means concentrates in family law, from our West Ashley office in Charleston.
It depends on where you and your spouse live, because North Charleston is not a one-county city. The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 place-to-county file lists the City of North Charleston in Charleston County, Dorchester County and Berkeley County. Venue is fixed by S.C. Code § 20-3-60 and turns on where the parties reside, which may be one of those three counties or another county altogether.
The statute reads: “Actions for divorce from the bonds of matrimony or for separate support and maintenance must be tried in the county (a) in which the defendant resides at the time of the commencement of the action, (b) in which the plaintiff resides if the defendant is a nonresident or after due diligence cannot be found, or (c) in which the parties last resided together as husband and wife unless the plaintiff is a nonresident, in which case it must be brought in the county in which the defendant resides.”
Because the counties adjoin, prongs (a) and (c) routinely point to different counties once a couple separates. Hiring a Charleston attorney does not decide venue, and neither does a ZIP code — a postal city is a mail-delivery area, not a boundary. Venue is also separate from residency: whether you may file in South Carolina at all is § 20-3-30 — one year of residence, or three months if both spouses are residents at commencement.
To learn which county an address sits in, run it through the U.S. Census Bureau’s address geocoder or your county’s parcel search. We confirm venue before filing.
When § 20-3-60 points to Charleston, Berkeley or Dorchester County, these are the courthouses — three towns, two circuits. Charleston and Berkeley sit in the 9th Judicial Circuit; Dorchester in the 1st.
| Charleston County | Berkeley County | Dorchester County | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Circuit | 9th | 9th | 1st |
| Family Court | 100 Broad Street, Suite 143, Charleston, SC 29401 | 300-B California Avenue, Moncks Corner, SC 29461 | Troy Knight Judicial Complex, 212 Deming Way, Summerville, SC 29483 |
| Phone | (843) 958-4400 | (843) 719-4500 | (843) 832-0360 |
| Clerk’s hours | 8:30–5, Mon–Fri | 9:00–5, Mon–Fri | 8:30–5, Mon–Fri |
Verified on each county’s own website on August 25, 2026. Three details catch people out. At 100 Broad Street, Suite 143 is the Family Court — Suite 106 is Common Pleas and General Sessions. Berkeley’s address carries a letter: 300-B California Avenue. And Dorchester’s Family Court is in Summerville, not at the county seat in St. George.
Our county guides carry the local mechanics: Charleston, Berkeley, Dorchester.
On paper, at the clerk of court in the county where venue lies. South Carolina has no Family Court e-filing. The statewide system is a Court of Common Pleas program, so every divorce in all three counties is filed in hard copy.
| Step | What it involves |
|---|---|
| 1. Summons, Complaint, coversheet | SCCA 400.01 and 400.02 SRL-DIV in the self-represented packet. The SCCA 467 coversheet is required for docketing and is served with them. |
| 2. Filing fee | $150 — $100 under § 8-21-310(C)(1) plus $50 under § 14-1-204(B)(1), from the SC Judicial Branch fee schedule, read August 25, 2026. The responding spouse pays no fee to answer (§ 8-21-310(D)). |
| 3. Answer | 30 days after service of the complaint (SCRCP 12(a)). SCRCP 6(e) adds five days to a prescribed period for service by mail; whether it reaches this deadline is a call for your attorney. |
| 4. Financial Declaration | SCCA 430, filed and served before or at the first hearing, or within 45 days of service, whichever comes first (SCRFC 20(b)). |
| 5. Temporary hearing | SCRFC Rule 21: heard 21 to 45 days after the request is filed; notice 20 days out, the return 10 days out, written evidence 5 days out. The fee is $25 — one fee, however many forms of relief are requested. |
| 6. Mediation | ADR Rule 3(a) sends contested domestic issues to court-ordered mediation in every South Carolina county, except what Rule 3(b) excludes — among them requests for temporary relief — or a case exempted for good cause under Rule 3(c). Where it applies, no merits hearing is scheduled until a Proof of ADR is filed (Rule 4(d)(2)(A)). |
| 7. Wait, then decree | § 20-3-80: no reference before two months after filing, no decree before three months — but on desertion or one-year separation the hearing may be held and the decree issued once responsive pleadings are filed or the respondent is adjudged in default, whichever comes first. The order must issue within 30 days of the hearing (SCRFC 26(c)). |
The SC Judicial Branch publishes a free self-represented divorce packet (SCCA 400P SRL-DIV) for couples filing on the one-year separation ground; children and property do not disqualify you, disagreement does. See also how to file for divorce in Charleston.
Yes. Under § 20-3-30, “residents” as applied to a party stationed in this State on active duty military service means a continuous presence in South Carolina for the required period, regardless of intent to remain permanently. Presence satisfies the statute; domicile is not required.
Joint Base Charleston (now Joint Base Lindsey Graham) matters here. The base legal office publishes two addresses: 102 East Hill Boulevard on the Air Base side, and 2316 Red Bank Road in Goose Creek at the Weapons Station. Goose Creek is in Berkeley County; a North Charleston address may be in Charleston, Dorchester or Berkeley County. So the county that hears a service member’s divorce is an address question under § 20-3-60, not a base question.
One federal trap deserves a flag. Being stationed here does not, by itself, let a South Carolina court divide military retired pay. Under 10 U.S.C. § 1408(c)(4) a court may divide retired pay only where it has jurisdiction over the member by reason of residence other than because of military assignment, domicile, or consent — and consent is the everyday route. Residency and pension jurisdiction are separate findings.
A deployment does not stop a case. Where a spouse has not appeared, 50 U.S.C. § 3931 requires the filing spouse to file an affidavit on that spouse’s military status before judgment, and bars judgment against a service member until the court appoints an attorney to represent them. Where a member applies with both required communications — the member’s own letter and the commanding officer’s — the court must stay the case for not less than 90 days (§ 3932).
Each answers to a different federal rule, and South Carolina applies its own law inside those limits. Property acquired during the marriage is generally marital under § 20-3-630 — with exclusions for third-party gifts, inheritances, property covered by a valid marital agreement and pain-and-suffering damages — and is apportioned under the fifteen § 20-3-620(B) factors, equitably, which may or may not be equally.
| Asset | What federal law says |
|---|---|
| Military retired pay | 10 U.S.C. § 1408(c)(1) lets a court treat disposable retired pay as marital property “in accordance with the law of the jurisdiction of such court.” Payments under all court orders may not exceed 50 percent of disposable retired pay (§ 1408(e)(1)); 65 percent applies only where support garnishment stacks on a property award (§ 1408(e)(4)(B)). |
| The “10/10 rule” | Where the marriage did not overlap 10 years of creditable service, § 1408(d)(2) says payments may not be made under that section. That limits the Defense Finance and Accounting Service’s payment mechanism, not the court’s power to divide. A shorter marriage changes who writes the check. |
| Thrift Savings Plan | Divided by a retirement benefits court order under 5 C.F.R. part 1653 — not a QDRO. It must name the Thrift Savings Plan, use defined-contribution terms, and say which account is meant where the participant holds both a civilian and a uniformed-services account. The record keeper charges $600, taken before review and not refunded if the order fails to qualify (§ 1653.6). |
| VA disability compensation | Not divisible. In Howell v. Howell, 581 U.S. 214 (2017), the Supreme Court held that a state court may not order a veteran to indemnify a former spouse for the loss caused by waiving retired pay to take disability benefits — under any label. But South Carolina counts “Veterans’ benefits” as gross income for support (S.C. Regulation 114-4720(A)(2)). Not divisible as marital property; countable as gross income for support. |
Two statutes do different jobs here. Neither lets a deployment, by itself, count against a parent — though a court may weigh a deployment's significant impact on the child.
Both sit on top of the seventeen best-interest factors in § 63-15-240(B). See our overview of custody rights in South Carolina.
The public costs below are set statewide. No county filing surcharge is published on any primary source for Charleston, Berkeley or Dorchester, though clerks charge their own copy fees. What moves the total is how much is contested.
| Public cost | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Divorce filing fee | $150 | SC Judicial Branch fee schedule |
| Defendant’s answer or return | $0 | § 8-21-310(D) |
| Motion for temporary relief | $25, one fee however many forms of relief | Motion Fee List (2016 order) |
| Sheriff’s service of a Summons and Complaint | $15 initial, $5 per attempt after, $25 maximum | § 23-19-10(d) |
| Court-appointed mediator | $200 per hour, in equal shares unless the parties agree or the court orders otherwise | SC ADR Rule 9(b)–(c) |
Each figure was read on its linked source on August 25, 2026; court fees change. The bigger variables are not fees. A contested temporary hearing costs attorney time building the Rule 21 paper record. A guardian ad litem bills hourly with no statutory cap — § 63-3-850(A) makes the judge set the rate and an initial fee authorization in the appointment order. Mediation that does not settle adds more. SCRCP 3(b) provides fee waivers where cost is the obstacle.
A 2019 Martindale-Nolo Research survey — national, self-selected, not South Carolina — reported average total costs of $4,100 for an uncontested divorce with lawyers and $20,400 where at least one issue was tried. At Hall & Means an initial retainer is quoted at your consultation, based on the facts of your case — initial, because the final cost depends on how the case unfolds. See our guide to preparing financially before you file.
Common questions
No. S.C. Code § 20-3-60 keys venue to a county, and a ZIP code is a postal delivery area, not a boundary. North Charleston addresses fall in Charleston, Dorchester and Berkeley counties, and the county that hears your divorce depends on where you and your spouse reside — which can even be a county outside the Lowcountry. Check the address against the county line, not the mailing city.
No. South Carolina has no Family Court e-filing. The statewide e-filing system is a Court of Common Pleas program, and the Family Court has not been added to it, so every divorce is filed on paper in Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties alike. Self-represented parties are excluded from that portal entirely, which is a separate restriction.
Yes, with federal safeguards. Where a spouse has not appeared, 50 U.S.C. § 3931 makes the filing spouse file an affidavit on that spouse’s military status before judgment, and no judgment may be entered against a service member until the court appoints an attorney for them. Under § 3932, a member who applies with both required letters must be granted a stay of not less than 90 days.
It advises, but it cannot appear for you. The staff judge advocate fact sheet for the base says legal service is available to active duty, retirees and their families, and that advice is allowed on divorce, separation and child support — while also stating that legal assistance attorneys cannot represent clients in court. To have an attorney appear for you, you need private civilian counsel.
For a North Charleston household the first question is usually which county the case belongs in — and that changes the courthouse, the clerk and the circuit. We confirm venue under § 20-3-60 before filing, and we represent clients in all three Family Courts, service members and military spouses included.
To request a confidential consultation, call Hall & Means at (843) 377-1341 or send a confidential message. You work directly with Mary Ann Hall or Jessica Means, from our West Ashley office at 1816 Belgrade Avenue, Ste. 101, Charleston, SC 29407. More on our Charleston divorce practice.
Last reviewed: August 25, 2026.
This page is general legal information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. South Carolina law changes and every case turns on its specific facts. Consult a licensed South Carolina family-law attorney about your situation.
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