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).
“Get Married” contrasted with “You’ll Do”: two recent books about marriage
For both professional reasons [family law attorney for 30 years] and personal reasons [husband for 34 years], I find the sociology of marriage
The June 20, 2024 Court of Appeals opinion in Carter v. Carter corrects an obvious family court error but fails to correct what
May 9th Q&A with Professor Marcia Zug about You’ll Do at Blue Bicycle Books
On May 9, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. I will be doing a Q&A with Marcia Zug, the Miles and Ann Loadholt Professor of