Sinclair & Collins, LLC
Attorneys at Law
Phone: (864) 573-7575 ext. 6
Fax: (864) 585-0183
Email: office@dmcjr.com
Physical Address: 302 East St. John Street
Spartanburg, SC 29302
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1853
Spartanburg, SC 29304
Frequently Asked Questions
About Alimony
In South Carolina
Can I get alimony from my spouse?
The decision of whether or not a spouse can get alimony is completely up to the Family Court Judge. In making that decision, Judges typically look at such things as the earning capabilities of each spouse, marital misconduct, the ability of the spouse asking for alimony to return to work, and the other financial obligations of th espouse who would be paying alimony.
How much alimony can I get?
There is no formula in determining how much alimony a spouse can receive in South Carolina. Alimony is set by the individual Family Court Judge or by the agreement of the parties, and varies greatly from case to case. Typically, alimony is set at an amount that is necessary to allow the spouse receiving alimony to maintain the same lifestyle he or she enjoyed during the marriage.
How is alimony paid?
Periodic alimony is the most common type of alimony in South Carolina. Periodic alimony is a monthly cash payment from one spouse to the other spouse. Unless the spouses agree otherwise, periodic alimony ends only when the supported spouse remarries or one of the two spouses dies.
What other types of alimony are available?
Other types of alimony that a South Carolina Family Court can award include lump sum alimony, rehabilitative alimony, and reimbursement alimony.
What is lump sum alimony?
Lump sum alimony is one large payment to the spouse, typically at the end of the divorce, which the supported spouse must use and manage in the future. Lump sum alimony may be appropriate when the paying spouse has considerable assets at the time the alimony is warded, but is not expected to have enough earnings to make future periodic alimony payments.
What is rehabilitative alimony?
Rehabilitative alimony is designed to allow the supported spouse time to obtain additional education or job training so that he or she can become self- supporting. An example would be a wife who let her professional license expire while raising young children and now needs alimony for a short period of time to return to school for the purpose of regaining her license.
What is reimbursement alimony?
Reimbursement alimony is designed to compensate the supported souse for contributions he or she made to the paying spouse’s current level of income. An example would be a wife who put her husband through medical school may be entitled to reimbursement alimony to compensate for the time the effort that she invested in his medical school education.