Getting Divorced in Greenville, SC? You Need a Divorce Lawyer!

If you live in the Greenville, South Carolina area and you are getting divorced, you should seriously consider getting a divorce attorney. All too often, the attorneys at Greenville Family Law are hired by a client that thought they could handle a divorce without legal representation, but then realized that mistakes were made. While we are capable of petitioning Family Court to modify child support, for instance, it is always best to get things right the first time. As such, we highly recommend that you seek legal representation when it comes time to end a marriage.

Do You Need an Attorney for an Uncontested Divorce? 

There is such a thing as an easy divorce, especially when compared to divorces wherein each party argues every decision that must be made when legally ending a divorce. Many times, we get a client that has already worked out all the details with their spouse before filing for divorce. Inevitably, when this happens, we get asked if an attorney is really required.

We understand the desire to save money by not hiring an attorney. However, even in uncontested divorces, our clients benefit from our experience for two reasons.

The first reason is that we know how people can change after divorce. Many times, our clients want to agree on a child support arrangement that is less demanding that what the laws of South Carolina afford a mother or father. There are so many reasons our clients have given for wanting a low child support arrangement, however, in all cases, we recommend against it because people will change after marriage is over. For example, a mother who is currently willing to accept low child support payments will likely change her mind when her ex-husband begins to spend a significant amount of money on his new life or on a new love interest. For this reason, and hundreds of more just like it, we always recommend that our clients seek the child support structure detailed by South Carolina law.

The second reason that we always recommend hiring an experienced family law attorney in uncontested divorces is that our clients need to understand the long-term consequences of their divorce agreement with their spouse. Deciding to get married is a critical decision is a person’s life. However, decided to end a marriage is just as big a decision, if not more. As such, making sure you understand all your legal options when getting divorced is crucial.

Family Law Attorneys Should be a Calming Voice in Your Life

Getting divorced is not a calm period in anyone’s life. Many of our clients know that they are doing the right thing by ending their marriage, but that is not the same as not having any anxiety about the dissolution of their marriage. A good family law attorney should be a calming voice while their client deals with the emotions involved in all divorces.

Here at Greenville Family Law, we have experience in patiently explaining the legal process of divorce. We also understand how many of our clients equate a failed marriage to being a failure in life. However, nothing could be further from the truth, and we make sure all our clients understand that they are not alone, nor are they failures

Fault or No-Fault Divorce?

In South Carolina, it matters if the divorce was due to fault. The most form of fault is infidelity, and we often get clients that do not want to seek a fault determination against their spouse. However, it is important that our clients understand that the court does consider fault in awarding spousal support, the distribution of property, and custody issues. For example, if a spouse has spent a considerable amount of money on an outside-the-marriage love interest, a judge may decide that is fair to award the non-cheating spouse more money to make up for the marital money that was spent on this love interest.

The Division of Property

A very crucial aspect of any divorce is deciding on how to divide a marriage’s assets. If only it were as easy as adding up numbers and then agreeing that each party gets 50% of that total, but it is not. At Greenville Family Law, we have experience in finding hidden assets, in valuing said assets and seeking a fair method of dividing these assets.

The first step involves finding all assets. It is very common for the end of a marriage to have been contemplated by one or both parties for several months or even years before making the final decision to divorce. It is also common to have a marriage arrangement wherein one spouse handles all money matters. As such, it becomes very easy for a spouse who sees the end of the marriage on the horizon to begin to hide assets. For this reason, it is very important that you hire an attorney who is experienced in tracking assets down that may have been secretly diverted.

Once all assets are located, a decision needs to be made if any of these assets qualify as separate property. South Carolina family law recognizes that a spouse may own property that is separate from the marriage and as such, not subject to being divided during the divorce. The lawyers at Greenville Family Law have experience in determining what property needs to be divided.

Fairly dividing a marriage’s assets is the next step and South Carolina law favors a 50/50 division of all marital property. While it is impractical at times to have an exact split of marital property, our lawyers are experienced in working with our clients and the family court system in attaining a fair and equitable split of marriage assets.

The decision to end a marriage is never easy. However, you do not need to go through the process alone. At Greenville Family Law, we do not charge for an initial consultation. So, you have nothing to lose by meeting with one of our dedicated Greenville divorce law attorneys so you can better understand your options.