Filing for divorce generally includes (1) filing the necessary paperwork with the appropriate state or county court; (2) paying the filing fee; and (3) having the paperwork properly served on (handed to) your spouse—known as service of process.

This paperwork generally consists of a complaint or petition that includes the names of the spouses, the grounds for the divorce (fault or no-fault), whether there are children involved in the marriage, and whether the spouse is seeking child custody, child support, or spousal support.

A spouse generally may file for divorce in the state and county in which the spouse resides—or in which the other spouse resides. In many states the spouse must have lived in the state or county for a specified period of time before filing for divorce. Laws regarding this residency requirement and where a lawsuit for divorce may be filed vary from state to state and with circumstances in which the spouses share minor children.

Laws regarding the requirements for filing for divorce are usually located in a state’s statutes—often in the family code or domestic relations code.

In South Carolina, the process of filing for divorce involves submitting the necessary legal documents to the appropriate county court where either spouse resides. The initial document is typically a complaint or petition that outlines the basic information about the marriage, including the names of both spouses, the grounds for divorce (which can be fault-based or no-fault), and details about children, custody, and support if applicable. South Carolina requires a filing fee to be paid upon submission of the divorce paperwork. Additionally, the other spouse must be properly served with these documents, which is known as 'service of process.' To file for divorce in South Carolina, at least one spouse must have resided in the state for a minimum of one year before filing, or if both spouses reside in the state, the residency requirement is reduced to three months. The specific statutes governing divorce in South Carolina can be found in the South Carolina Code of Laws, particularly in the sections pertaining to marriage and divorce within the family code or domestic relations code.