What Happens at Family Court Temporary Hearings?

Typically, the first hearing in any contested family court case will be a motion for temporary relief.  The rules and procedures surrounding these motions are unique and are set forth in South Carolina Family Court Rule 21., which was substantially revised on October 1, 2025.

Not all family court motions are motions for temporary relief.  A basic analysis is that motions that seek what a family court litigant ultimately seeks at trial but on a temporary basis (such as custody, visitation, support, attorney’s fees and restraints) are requests for temporary relief whereas motions seeking relief that cannot be modified or adjusted at trial or affect procedural and not substantive rights are not motions for temporary relief.

Under Rule 21(b), SCRFC, motions for temporary relief must “state with specificity the issues raised and the relief sought by the party.” Under Rule 21(d), SCRFC, motions for temporary must relief must be served “at least twenty days before the date scheduled for the hearing.”  Per Rule 21(h), SCRFC, one may petition the court to “modify the scheduling, notice, and time requirements” Such a request needs to be supported by affidavit.  Per Rule 21(g), SCFCR, ex-parte requests for temporary relief must follow the procedures for Rule 65, SCRCP.

Rule 21(d), SCFCR, authorizes returns to motions for temporary relief. “The responding party(ies) shall serve and file a return and (if applicable) request for affirmative relief no later than ten days prior to the date scheduled for the hearing. This responsive document shall state with specificity any new or additional issues presented (if any) and the relief sought by the party.”

Rule 21(e), SCRFC, addresses the evidence that may be submitted for temporary hearings:

(1) Evidence received by the court at hearings on motions for temporary relief shall be confined to affidavits, financial declarations, and any other documents which are statutorily-required (such as a parenting plan), and may be limited as detailed in this rule. No part of this rule should be interpreted to prevent a judge from considering the pleadings, motion, and return. For good cause, in the discretion of the judge who conducts the hearing, additional evidence or testimony may be permitted or required.

(2) Except as stated in this paragraph, all written evidence (including supporting documents) shall be served and filed no later than five days before the date of the scheduled hearing. At the hearing, either party may serve and file reply affidavits in response to the opposing parties’ evidence, and additional detail in support of a request for attorney’s fees and costs.

(3) All evidence shall comply with the South Carolina Rules of Evidence.

(4) The volume of evidence shall be limited as follows:

(A) If the hearing is scheduled for fifteen minutes, each party shall be limited to ten pages of affidavits.

(B) If the hearing is scheduled for thirty minutes, each party shall be limited to twenty pages of affidavits.

(C) If the hearing request seeks more than thirty minutes, the requesting party shall include an explanation in support of the requested time and any request to exceed the page limitations. In such event, the chief judge for administrative purposes must approve the amount of time and, if approved, shall designate any applicable limitation on the number of pages of affidavits.

(D) The page limitation for affidavits excludes proposed parenting plans, financial declarations, and attorneys’ fees affidavits.

(E) Any affidavit may refer to one or more documents. If documents are attached as exhibits to affidavits, the total number of pages of exhibits submitted by a party shall not exceed thirty, and these thirty pages shall not be considered in the page limitations for affidavits described above. If a document is referenced but not attached, the document shall be served with the affidavit on the opposing party and must be available in the courtroom at the hearing. Any such document shall comply with the South Carolina Rules of Evidence. Voluminous documents shall be summarized in the manner described in Rule 1006, SCRE.

At the temporary hearing, the court will rely upon sworn witness statements (affidavits), rather than live testimony, and will review each party’s financial declaration.  An explanation of how to draft affidavits can be found here:  How Does One Draft an Affidavit? Each party or their attorney will be given 5-15 minutes to argue their position and explain to the court the temporary relief being sought. The court then issues a temporary order fixing the parties’ respective rights and obligations pending trial. At trial, the court’s temporary order carries no weight and cannot be used as evidence. Rimer v. Rimer, 361 S.C. 521, 527 n.6, 605 S.E.2d 572, 575 n.6 (Ct. App. 2004) (“Temporary hearings are not de facto final hearings, and we adhere to the principle that temporary orders must be without prejudice to the rights of the parties at the final hearing.”).

Meanwhile, the family court judge, at a temporary hearing, will make decisions regarding child custody, temporary child and spousal support and possession of the marital home that might remain in effect for a year or more.   Because temporary orders can generally only be changed upon a showing of substantially changed circumstances or until trial, a temporary hearing is often the best opportunity a party may have to obtain the relief he or she is seeking (or stop the opposing party from obtaining requested relief).  Substantial effort is often required to adequately prepare for temporary hearings.

A lecture on methods of reducing the surprise element of temporary hearings can be found here: Four Ways of Reducing the Surprise Element at Family Court Hearings.