Legal Question in Family Law in South Carolina

Generally, it has little effect on a family court action for divorce when the Defendant does not file an Answer. The Plaintiff can ask the court to hold the Defendant in Default for failing to file an Answer, but, even if the court finds the Defendant in Default, the court will still hear from the Defendant at future hearings and at the final hearing. Family court involves issues so fundamentally basic to the parties' lives- their children, their homes, and their emotional lives, that the Rules allow parties to be heard even when they have not formally answered allegations against them.

As long as the Defendant is properly served with all the pleadings and hearing notices, the divorce itself will go forward and will be granted under the proper circumstances even when the Defendant does not answer, or, in fact, does not even come to court. The Plaintiff must, of course, prove to the court that he has grounds for divorce.

This answer is for informational purposes only and does not create an attorney-client relationship.