South Dakota Divorce Laws

If you are already acquainted with the Q&A section of our website regarding divorce in South Dakota, now you can proceed with getting to know local laws better. Here we outlined the most up-to-date rules of SD divorce laws, so that you can prepare yourself for the filing.

Requirements to begin the South Dakota divorce process

Before starting to prepare the documents, we always advise you to take a look at the requirements to be eligible for filing in any state. States often demand a certain amount of time to be spent living in the county or that the grounds for divorce happened in the state to accept the case for review. However, in South Dakota, residency requirements for divorce are not strict at all. You just need to be a SD resident, and the residence must be maintained until the finalization of the divorce. No separation or waiting period prior to the submission of documents to the court is needed.

South Dakota divorce laws on adultery and their impact on divorce and granting alimony

South Dakota divorce law accepts the act of unfaithfulness as the ground to dissolve a marriage. Keep in mind this is a fault-based ground; therefore, you will need to prove it in the court. This may be done by providing the phone records, hotel receipts, engaging witnesses, etc. Giving evidence of the affair is crucial if you have chosen this reason for divorce or your claim will be declined and you will have to start the case all over again. Also, if you forgave your partner at any point, the court will not grant a divorce on this reason.

Since the behavior of both parties in marriage is taken into account while dividing property, granting child custody and ordering spousal support, the act of adultery will influence the chances of receiving alimony. For instance, if you proved that your partner spent a lot of the family income on an affair and they were not able to fully execute their parental responsibilities due to this affair, their chances of receiving alimony after the divorce will decrease significantly.

The factors that the judge will also consider when deciding on your case will include the ages and needs of both parties, their current jobs and wages, their future ability to accumulate income and their health and the responsibility each party had in the failure of the marital relationship. The last thing you need to know about spousal support in South Dakota is that it does not have to be lifelong; it can last until the alimony recipient marries for a second time or be granted for a certain time period (years or months).

States divorce law