South Carolina Legal Guides
27 guides covering South Carolina topics, each with Caselaw search beside the article.
Where to search South Carolina lawFree caselaw search for South Carolina — search by citation, case name, or legal issue, with full text and PDFs.
- Adverse Possession in South Carolina
South Carolina adverse possession: 10 years under S.C. Code Ann. §§ 15-67-210 to 15-67-260. Elements, taxes, color of title, and linked South Carolina opinions.
- Can I Get Sued After a Car Accident in South Carolina? Does Fault Matter?
South Carolina car accident lawsuits and fault: modified comparative fault with a 51% bar (recovery barred if you are more than 50% at fault) under S.C. Code Ann. § 15-38-15, when you can sue or be sued, insurance rules, and the statute of limitations (Three years for personal injury actions under S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530.).
- Castle Doctrine in South Carolina: Deadly Force Against Intruders
South Carolina castle doctrine: when occupants may use deadly force against home intruders, key statutes (S.C. Code Ann. § 16-11-440), presumptions, and leading cases.
- Child Custody and Parenting Time in South Carolina
How South Carolina courts decide custody and parenting time under S.C. Code Ann. §§ 63-15-10 to 63-15-270, including best-interests factors, relocation, and modification.
- DUI Penalties in South Carolina
South Carolina DUI penalties under S.C. Code Ann. §§ 56-5-2930, 56-5-2933: BAC limits, first-offense range, when a DUI becomes a felony, and ignition-interlock rules.
- Estate Planning Malpractice: South Carolina Adopts Expanded Rule of Liability
The rules for estate planning malpractice vary widely across the country, as different jurisdictions have struggled with how much "privity" is enough for an "intended" beneficiary of an estate plan to sue the estate planning attorney. A cas…
- How Does Bond Work in South Carolina? Bail and Pretrial Release Explained
South Carolina bail and bond explained: Constitutional right to bail (with exceptions). Types of release, what judges consider at a bail hearing, forfeiture risks, and linked South Carolina opinions under S.C. Code Ann. §§ 17-15-10 to 17-15-70.
- How Does Eviction Work in South Carolina?
South Carolina eviction / Ejectment of tenants under S.C. Code Ann. §§ 27-37-10 et seq. (ejectment of tenants); §§ 27-40-10 et seq. (Residential Landlord and Tenant Act): notices, filing forum, timeline to a writ of possession, and common tenant defenses.
- How Do You Make a Valid Will In South Carolina?
To make a valid will under South Carolina law, the will must be: In writing; Signed by the testator; Witnessed and signed by two witnesses. The requirements to make a valid will under South Carolina are found at S.C. Code § 62-2-502.…
- How to File a Lawsuit Without a Lawyer in South Carolina: Pro Se Litigation Guide
A practical South Carolina guide to representing yourself: what statutes, cases, and rules are; how to draft and file a complaint (or magistrate’s summons/complaint); how service and South Carolina Courts eFiling registration work; discovery; evidence; and how LawDiver helps you research authorities in the corpus.
- How to File for Divorce in South Carolina
South Carolina divorce filing guide: At least one party must have resided in South Carolina for 1 year before filing (shorter presence may suffice when both parties live in-state and the plaintiff has lived there 3 months). equitable distribution; linked statutes and process overview.
- How to Get a Prison Sentence Reduced in South Carolina
Paths to shorten or correct a South Carolina prison sentence under S.C. Code Ann. §§ 17-27-10 to 17-27-150: modification motions, good-time credits, parole, and post-conviction relief — with linked South Carolina opinions.
- How to Modify Alimony in South Carolina
Step-by-step guide to modifying alimony in South Carolina under S.C. Code § 20-3-170: changed-circumstances standards, retirement and cohabitation rules, when changes take effect, and the cases that matter.
- How to Modify Child Support in South Carolina
Step-by-step guide to modifying a South Carolina child support order under S.C. Code § 63-17-1420 (DSS); S.C. Child Support Guidelines (modification provisions); family court continuing jurisdiction: what counts as a change in circumstances, when changes take effect, and the cases that matter.
- Is Abortion Legal in South Carolina?
South Carolina abortion law after Dobbs: gestational limit. Approximately six weeks of gestation (detectable embryonic/fetal cardiac activity), upheld as enforceable gestational-limit framework.. Linked statutes and South Carolina opinions.
- Is Common-Law Marriage Recognized In South Carolina?
Whether common-law marriage is recognized in South Carolina depends on your timing. In the July 24, 2019 opinion of Stone v. Thompson, the South Carolina Supreme Court abolished common law marriage, but did so only prospectively. Therefore,…
- Security Deposit Return in South Carolina
How South Carolina landlords must handle residential security deposits under S.C. Code Ann. § 27-40-410: limits, return deadlines, and wrongful-withholding remedies.
- South Carolina Alimony: Eligibility, Amount, and Duration
How South Carolina courts award alimony under S.C. Code Ann. § 20-3-130: eligibility, statutory factors, duration, and leading cases.
- South Carolina Child Support Guidelines: How Support Is Calculated
How South Carolina calculates child support under S.C. Code Ann. § 63-17-470; South Carolina Child Support Guidelines, including the income shares, deviations, modification, and leading cases.
- South Carolina Evidence Law: Admissibility, Hearsay, and Authenticity
A practitioner guide to South Carolina evidence law under the South Carolina Rules of Evidence: general admissibility, character evidence, hearsay and its workhorse exceptions, unavailable declarants, depositions at trial, party admissions, dying declarations, medical statements, and a dedicated authenticity section — with case and statute links in the LawDiver corpus.
- South Carolina Supreme Court: Arbitration Agreement Signed By Power of Attorney Unenforceable
On March 10, 2021, the South Carolina Supreme Court, in Arrendondo v. SNH SE Ashley River Tenant LLC issued a reminder that a power of attorney gives only the authority it grants, and cannot be used beyond its plain language. The Facts of A…
- South Carolina Supreme Court: No Surviving Spouse Status In Dispute Over "Godfather of Soul" James Brown’s Estate
In a June 2020 decision, Brown v. Sojourner , the South Carolina Supreme Court addressed the surviving spouse status of the "Godfather of Soul" James Brown’s purported surviving spouse , Tommie Rae Brown, where Tommie had not annulled her p…
- Stand Your Ground Laws in South Carolina
South Carolina stand-your-ground overview (statutory stand-your-ground): duty to retreat, statutes, civil immunity, and controlling cases.
- Surviving Spouse Rights South Carolina
A South Carolina surviving spouse has many important rights under South Carolina law, including: Intestate Share Omitted Spouse Rights Elective Share Homestead Rights Exempt Property In order to preserve all rights and benefits granted unde…
- What a South Carolina Expungement and sealing Order Actually Does
South Carolina expungement and sealing begins with S.C. Code Ann. § 22-5-930, expungement; first offense drug convictions. This guide follows that petition, the records that travel under a different section, and the opinions that have already decided these requests.
- What Happens If I Refuse a Breathalyzer Test in South Carolina?
South Carolina implied-consent consequences for refusing a chemical breath or blood test under S.C. Code Ann. § 56-5-2950, including license suspension and evidence use.
- Who Are Next Of Kin In South Carolina?
The term “next of kin” is often used synonymously with “heirs at law” in South Carolina. When a South Carolina resident dies without a will, their next of kin heirs at law are those in line to inherit their intestate estate, and are general…