In order to approve a family law agreement the family court must make determinations about the agreement’s fundamental fairness and determine that the parties entered the agreement freely and voluntarily. If the agreement involves financial issues the court will want to review the parties’ financial declarations. The court will also want to question the parties about the agreement. If a party lives out of the area or is unable to attend the hearing, the court will generally accept an affidavit attesting to the fairness and voluntariness of the agreement.
Among the questions the court will typically ask the parties about the agreement are:
If the parties answer these questions in a manner that convinces the judge the agreement is fair and was entered into freely and voluntarily the court will then approve the agreement.
If the parties are seeking a divorce as part of the approval of the agreement the court will next ask the parties if they can be reconciled. This is a required part of South Carolina policy under S.C. Code § 20-3-90, which favors the preservation of marriages. If either spouse claims they cannot be reconciled the court will find they cannot be reconciled. Next the parties will need to provide testimony establishing the date and location of the marriage, that jurisdiction and venue are proper, the names and birth dates of the children who were born of the marriage, whether the wife is currently pregnant, the county of the last marital domicile, the date of separation, and evidence supporting the ground for divorce. The court will finally require corroboration of the ground of divorce independent of the parties’ own testimony. Assuming these conditions are met the court will grant the divorce.
If a proposed order has been prepared prior to the hearing and that order is acceptable to the court, the court will sign the order approving the agreement and, if a divorce was requested and granted, granting the divorce. If no such order was prepared for the hearing the court will direct one party or that party’s attorney to draft that proposed order. Only when the order has been signed by a judge and filed with the clerk of family court is the agreement a valid court order.
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