Who Qualifies for Alimony in South Carolina? The §20-3-130 Types, the 13 Factors, and What Ends It

By Mary Ann Hall, Hall & Means, LLC

What qualifies you for alimony in South Carolina is not a single test but a case-by-case weighing of 13 factors under S.C. Code § 20-3-130 — marriage length, each spouse’s income and earning capacity, health, standard of living, and marital misconduct. There is no minimum marriage length, but adultery by the supported spouse can be a conditional bar. At Hall & Means in Charleston, we help spouses understand every alimony type.

If you are facing a separation or divorce in the Lowcountry, one of the first money questions is usually the hardest: will you receive support, or will you owe it? In South Carolina, there is no formula that spits out an answer. A Charleston County Family Court judge decides alimony case by case, guided by a specific statute — S.C. Code § 20-3-130 — and a list of factors the law spells out.

This guide walks through what South Carolina law actually says: the five forms of alimony a court can award, the 13 factors that decide who qualifies and how much, the misconduct rules that can bar support, and the events that later change or end it. Where the law is easy to get wrong — and family-law answers online often are — we point out the correct South Carolina rule.

The Five Forms of SC Alimony: Periodic, Lump-Sum, Rehabilitative, Reimbursement, and Separate Maintenance

South Carolina judges cannot invent whatever support arrangement they like. Under S.C. Code § 20-3-130(B), the court may award five defined forms of alimony (plus a catch-all), and the type it chooses controls whether the support can later be changed.

• Periodic alimony. Ongoing, usually monthly payments with no fixed end date. It is modifiable if circumstances change, and it terminates on the remarriage or continued cohabitation of the supported spouse, or the death of either spouse. People often call this “permanent alimony,” but that is just informal shorthand for periodic support — it is not truly permanent.
• Lump-sum alimony. A fixed total amount, paid at once or over time. It is generally not modifiable and does not end on remarriage; it terminates only on the death of the supported spouse.
• Rehabilitative alimony. A finite, time-limited award meant to help a spouse become self-supporting — for example, while finishing a degree or job training. It can be modified if unforeseen events frustrate that spouse’s good-faith effort to become self-supporting.
• Reimbursement alimony. A set sum to repay one spouse for supporting the other’s education or career during the marriage (think of a spouse who paid the bills through medical school). It is generally not modifiable.
• Separate maintenance and support. Periodic support paid while spouses live apart but are not yet divorced. It ends at divorce, on death, or on continued cohabitation, and it is modifiable.

The statute also lets a court order “such other form of spousal support” it considers just, and it may award more than one form at the same time. The practical takeaway: the type of alimony matters as much as the amount, because it decides how much flexibility exists down the road.

The 13 Statutory Factors Judges Actually Weigh

There is no automatic entitlement to alimony in South Carolina and no minimum marriage length you must reach to qualify. Instead, under S.C. Code § 20-3-130(C), the family court must weigh 13 statutory factors when deciding whether to award support and, if so, what type, how much, and for how long.

The 13 alimony factors are:

1. Duration of the marriage, together with the ages of the parties at marriage and at the time of the divorce or separate-maintenance action.
2. Physical and emotional condition of each spouse.
3. Educational background of each spouse, including any need for additional training or education.
4. Employment history and earning potential of each spouse.
5. Standard of living established during the marriage.
6. Current and reasonably anticipated earnings of both spouses.
7. Current and reasonably anticipated expenses and needs of both spouses.
8. Marital and nonmarital property, including what each spouse received in the property division.
9. Custody of children, where it may make it appropriate for a parent to limit or avoid outside employment.
10. Marital misconduct or fault, where it affected the economic circumstances or contributed to the breakup.
11. Tax consequences of the support award to each party.
12. Prior support obligations from a previous marriage or other reasons.
13. Any other factors the court considers relevant.

Because duration of the marriage is only the first of thirteen factors, a short marriage does not automatically rule out alimony — though in practice, longer marriages with a real income gap are where periodic support is most common.

Don’t Confuse Alimony’s 13 Factors With Property’s 15

One of the most common mistakes — including in AI-generated answers — is blending the alimony factors with the property-division factors. They are two separate lists. Alimony uses the 13 factors in § 20-3-130(C). Equitable apportionment — the process of dividing marital property and debt — uses a separate list of 15 factors in S.C. Code § 20-3-620(B). South Carolina is an equitable-distribution state, meaning marital property is divided in a way the court considers fair, which may or may not be equal. It is not a community-property or automatic 50/50 state. You can read more in our overview of equitable distribution in South Carolina.

The Adultery Bar and Other Ways Alimony Is Lost

Adultery is treated seriously in South Carolina alimony law — but the common claim that “adultery is an absolute bar to alimony, no exceptions” is wrong.

Under S.C. Code § 20-3-130(A), the bar is conditional and time-limited. No alimony may be awarded to a spouse who commits adultery before the earliest of:

• (a) the formal signing of a written property or marital settlement agreement; or
• (b) entry of a permanent order of separate maintenance and support, or a permanent order approving a property or marital settlement agreement.

In plain terms: once the couple’s finances are formally severed — by a signed settlement or a permanent order — adultery after that cutoff does not bar support. Before that cutoff, it can. This is a fact-specific area where timing matters enormously, which is exactly the kind of detail worth reviewing with a Charleston family-law attorney before you act.

Fault can also surface in a second way. Marital misconduct is one of the 13 factors a judge may weigh in setting alimony (factor 10 above) — specifically where the conduct affected the parties’ economic circumstances or contributed to the breakup. Like the adultery bar, that consideration is tied to conduct occurring before the earliest of a signed settlement agreement or a permanent order; it is a fact-specific area best reviewed with an attorney.

Modifying or Ending Alimony: Cohabitation, Retirement, and Changed Circumstances

For a spouse paying periodic alimony, the obligation is rarely fixed forever. South Carolina law provides clear triggers that either end alimony or open the door to changing it.

Death, Remarriage, and Continued Cohabitation

Periodic alimony automatically ends on the death of either spouse or the remarriage of the supported spouse. To stop spouses from dodging the remarriage trigger by simply moving in with a new partner, South Carolina codified a continued-cohabitation rule (§ 20-3-130(B), § 20-3-150). The statute defines continued cohabitation as the supported spouse residing with another person in a romantic relationship for 90 or more consecutive days.

The 90-or-more-consecutive-days rule is a statutory basis for continued cohabitation — but it is not something you can game. The law lets a court still find continued cohabitation even in shorter, recurring stretches where the couple periodically separates to circumvent the requirement.

Retirement of the Paying Spouse

The supporting spouse’s retirement is a recognized reason to ask a South Carolina court to review — and possibly reduce or end — periodic alimony. A court generally looks at considerations such as whether the retirement was mandatory or voluntary, the paying spouse’s age and health, whether retirement was expected when alimony was first set, and the resulting drop in income.

Substantial Change in Circumstances

More broadly, periodic alimony can be modified when there has been a substantial change in circumstances — a significant, often unanticipated shift in either party’s situation or the paying spouse’s ability to pay. Either party can petition the court to increase, decrease, or terminate periodic support on that basis. Lump-sum and reimbursement alimony, by contrast, are generally not modifiable.

If Alimony Goes Unpaid

South Carolina generally shields wages from garnishment for ordinary consumer debts, but spousal support is an exception. If court-ordered alimony goes unpaid, the receiving spouse has real enforcement tools — including income withholding, a contempt action, and other collection measures a family court can order.

Alimony and the Charleston County Family Court

Every South Carolina alimony case is heard in the state’s unified Family Court; Charleston County sits in the 9th Judicial Circuit, and the Charleston County Family Court is located at 100 Broad Street, Charleston, SC 29401. A family-court action begins with a summons and complaint, and each party files a financial declaration that lays out income, expenses, assets, and debts — the raw material a judge uses to work through the 13 alimony factors.

There are court costs along the way. South Carolina charges a Family Court filing fee to start a divorce or support action — a fee set by the state, not an attorney’s fee. Because these amounts change, confirm the current filing fee with the Charleston County clerk of court or the South Carolina Judicial Department before you rely on a figure. If money is tight, it is worth asking the clerk about a fee-waiver application.

Because alimony, property division, and custody are so often decided together, the pieces interact. What a spouse receives in the property division is itself one of the 13 alimony factors, and child custody arrangements can affect a parent’s ability to work — and therefore the support analysis.

Frequently Asked Questions About SC Alimony

How long do you have to be married to get alimony in South Carolina? There is no minimum. South Carolina law sets no required marriage length to qualify for alimony. Duration of the marriage is the first of the 13 factors under § 20-3-130(C), so a longer marriage generally weighs in favor of support, but short marriages are not automatically excluded.

Does adultery automatically disqualify you from alimony in SC? Not automatically. The adultery bar in § 20-3-130(A) is conditional. It applies only to adultery committed before the earliest of a signed written settlement agreement or a permanent order of separate maintenance or approving a settlement. Adultery after that cutoff does not bar support.

Is South Carolina a 50/50 state for alimony or property? No. South Carolina is an equitable-distribution state, not a community-property or automatic 50/50 state. Alimony is decided under the 13 factors of § 20-3-130(C), and marital property is divided under a separate 15-factor test in § 20-3-620(B) in a way the court considers fair.

Can alimony be changed after the divorce? Periodic alimony can be modified when there is a substantial change in circumstances, and the paying spouse’s retirement is a recognized reason to seek a review. It also ends on death, remarriage, or 90 days of continued romantic cohabitation. Lump-sum and reimbursement alimony are generally not modifiable.

Request a Confidential Consultation With a Charleston Family Law Attorney

Alimony questions rarely stand alone — they run alongside property division, custody, and support, and small facts (a marriage date, the timing of a settlement, a retirement plan) can change the whole picture. At Hall & Means, we help spouses across Charleston and the Lowcountry understand which alimony type fits their situation, how the 13 factors are likely to be weighed, and what a fair outcome could look like — never a guaranteed result, but a clear-eyed plan.

If you would like to talk through your situation confidentially and without obligation, call us at (843) 377-1341 or inquire online. We will listen first, then explain your options in plain language.

This article 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. (Attorney advertising — SC RPC 7.1.)