South Carolina Child Custody Laws: 17 Best-Interests Factors and Your Rights

South Carolina courts decide child custody by applying the best interests of the child standard under S.C. Code 63-15-230, weighing up to 17 statutory factors listed in 63-15-240. The state has no presumption of joint custody.

How does South Carolina decide child custody?

South Carolina Family Court decides custody by applying the best interests of the child standard codified in S.C. Code 63-15-230. Section 63-15-240(B) directs the court to consider the child's best interest and says that inquiry "may include, but is not limited to" 17 listed factors, so the list is illustrative and a judge can weigh additional circumstances that bear on the child's welfare. Before the court reaches that decision, S.C. Code 63-15-220(A) requires each parent, at every temporary hearing where custody is contested, to prepare, file, and submit a parenting plan covering parental preferences, the allocation of parenting time, and major decisions such as education, medical and dental care, extracurricular activities, and religious training. Parents may instead file a joint plan, and either party may file an updated plan at the final hearing. The court issues temporary and final custody orders only after considering these plans, although a party's failure to file one does not stop the court from issuing an order. South Carolina Family Court has exclusive jurisdiction over custody matters arising from divorce or separation proceedings. Judges have broad discretion in how they weigh the factors, and appellate courts defer to those findings unless the record shows a clear abuse of discretion. The parties can also reach a private custody agreement, which the court will approve if it serves the child's best interests.

Types of custody in South Carolina

South Carolina uses the standard custody framework. Legal custody is the authority to make major decisions about a child's upbringing, including choices about schooling, medical care, and religious practice. Physical custody determines where the child lives on a day-to-day basis and which parent provides daily care. Both legal and physical custody can be sole (held by one parent) or joint (shared by both). A common arrangement is joint legal custody, where both parents share decision-making authority, combined with primary physical custody in one home and scheduled parenting time for the other parent. A court can order any combination that it finds best serves the child.

Does South Carolina presume joint or 50/50 custody?

South Carolina does not presume joint custody. When parents cannot agree, the court must consider whether a joint arrangement would be in the child's best interests, but it is not required to order one. A judge weighs the relevant statutory factors, including each parent's willingness to cooperate and to support the child's relationship with the other parent, before deciding whether joint or sole custody better serves the child. South Carolina is not a 50/50-by-default state. Equal parenting time is a possible outcome if the facts support it, but it is the result of a careful case-by-case analysis, not a starting presumption.

The best interests factors South Carolina courts weigh

S.C. Code 63-15-240(B) directs the court to consider the child's best interest, an inquiry the statute says "may include, but is not limited to" these 17 items:

1. Temperament and developmental needs of the child. The court assesses the child's personality, age, and what kind of caregiving environment best fits those needs.
2. Capacity and disposition of each parent to meet the child's needs. Whether each parent can understand and meet the child's emotional, developmental, educational, and special needs.
3. Child's preference. The court considers each child's preference, with the weight given increasing as the child matures and demonstrates sufficient judgment.
4. Wishes of the parents as to custody. What each parent is asking for in the custody arrangement.
5. The child's relationships. The child's past and current relationship with each parent, the child's siblings, and any other person, including a grandparent, who may significantly affect the child's best interest.
6. Encouragement of the parent-child relationship. Each parent's actions to encourage the child's continuing relationship with the other parent, as appropriate, including compliance with court orders.
7. Coercive or manipulative behavior. A parent's manipulation or coercive behavior aimed at involving the child in the parents' dispute weighs heavily against that parent.
8. Disparagement. Whether a parent makes derogatory remarks about the other parent in the child's presence.
9. Ability to be actively involved. Each parent's ability to be actively involved in the child's life.
10. Adjustment to home, school, and community. How well the child is currently adjusted and the likely effect of any change on that adjustment.
11. Stability of residences. The stability of the child's existing home and any proposed new residence.
12. Mental and physical health of all parties. The mental and physical condition of everyone involved. A disability of a parent seeking custody is not, by itself, determinative unless the proposed custodial arrangement is not in the child's best interest.
13. Cultural and spiritual background. The child's cultural identity and any spiritual or religious upbringing the parents wish to provide.
14. Abuse or neglect. Whether the child or a sibling of the child has been abused or neglected, which the court treats as a serious negative factor.
15. Domestic violence. Whether a parent has perpetrated domestic violence or child abuse, or the effect on the child of an abuser's actions. Separately from this factor, S.C. Code 63-15-40 requires the court to give weight to evidence of domestic violence, as explained in the next section.
16. Relocation over 100 miles. Whether a parent has relocated more than 100 miles from the child's primary residence in the past year, unless the parent relocated for safety reasons.
17. Any other relevant factor. The list is non-exhaustive; the court can consider anything else that bears on the child's welfare.

Domestic violence and custody in South Carolina

Domestic violence is not only one item on the best-interests list. S.C. Code 63-15-40(A) imposes a separate command: in making a custody decision, "in addition to other existing factors specified by law, the court must give weight to evidence of domestic violence" as defined in S.C. Code 16-25-20 or 16-25-65, including physical or sexual abuse and, if appropriate, evidence of which party was the primary aggressor under S.C. Code 16-25-70. The statute directs the court to give that evidence weight; it does not declare that domestic violence automatically overrides every other consideration.

Section 63-15-40(B) protects a parent who leaves. It provides that the absence or relocation from the home by a person against whom domestic violence has been perpetrated, if that person is not the primary aggressor, "must not be considered by the court to be sufficient cause, absent other factors, to deny custody of the minor child to that person." A survivor who moves out for safety is not, on that basis alone, forfeiting a custody claim. That protection sits alongside factor 16, which itself excepts a relocation made for safety reasons.

S.C. Code 63-15-50 governs visitation where domestic violence has been found. A court may award visitation to a person found to have committed domestic violence, or found to be the primary aggressor, only if it finds that adequate provision can be made for the safety of the child and the victim. The court may order exchanges in a protected setting, supervised visitation, completion of a batterer intervention program or counseling, abstinence from alcohol or controlled substances around visitation, a bond against unlawful retention of the child, or no overnight visitation, and it may keep the child's and the victim's address confidential. Under 63-15-50(F), the court must order the offending party to pay the actual cost of medical or psychological treatment for a child injured by acts of domestic violence.

Relocation: moving with your child in South Carolina

South Carolina has no standalone relocation statute setting out a notice-and-hearing procedure, but relocation appears in the code in two distinct places. Factor 16 of S.C. Code 63-15-240(B) identifies a parent's relocation of more than 100 miles from the child's primary residence within the past year as one of the illustrative best-interests factors, unless the parent relocated for safety reasons. Separately, S.C. Code 63-3-530(A)(30) limits the family court's own order-making power: the court "may not issue an order which prohibits a custodial parent from moving his residence to a location within the State unless the court finds a compelling reason or unless the parties have agreed to such a prohibition." In other words, an in-state move by a custodial parent cannot be barred by court order absent a compelling reason or an agreement, while a move of more than 100 miles still feeds into the best-interests analysis. A relocation of that distance can also qualify as a substantial change in circumstances, which would open the door to a full modification review. The relocating parent is not automatically prohibited from moving, but if the move materially disrupts the custody arrangement, the other parent can seek a modification hearing. Courts analyze whether the proposed move serves a legitimate reason, how it affects the child's relationships, and what revised parenting-time schedule could preserve both parent-child bonds.

Changing a custody order (modification)

A South Carolina custody order can be modified only when the requesting parent demonstrates a substantial change in circumstances affecting the child's welfare since the prior order was entered, and then shows that modification serves the child's best interests under the 17-factor analysis. The bar is intentionally high to promote stability for the child. Courts do not revisit custody simply because a parent is unhappy with the outcome or wishes for more time. Significant changes such as a parent's relocation of more than 100 miles, a change in the child's school needs, documented abuse, or a dramatic shift in a parent's ability to care for the child are the types of circumstances that can clear the threshold.

For related financial matters, see South Carolina's child support laws and alimony laws.

If you are facing a custody case in South Carolina

Prepare a parenting plan, because filing one is required, not optional. Under S.C. Code 63-15-220(A), at every temporary hearing where custody is contested each parent must prepare, file, and submit a parenting plan to the court, and the court issues temporary and final custody orders only after considering those plans. Failing to file does not stop the judge from ruling, so a parent who skips it simply gives up the chance to shape the order. The plan must reflect parental preferences, the allocation of parenting time, and major decisions such as education, medical and dental care, extracurricular activities, and religious training. Beyond the bare requirement, a detailed plan helps: South Carolina Family Court is more receptive to parents who demonstrate they have thought through the child's daily schedule, school pickups, medical appointments, and holiday arrangements than to parents who simply ask for maximum custody without a concrete proposal. Either party may file an updated plan at the final hearing.

Document your existing involvement in the child's life with school records, medical records, photos, and calendars. Factor 9, each parent's ability to be actively involved in the child's life, rewards documented, active involvement; records matter far more than assertions.

Keep communication with the other parent businesslike and child-focused. Disparagement (factor 8) and coercive or manipulative behavior (factor 7) are independent negative factors; text messages and emails that show a pattern of bad-mouthing the other parent can be used against you at trial. Mediation is widely used in South Carolina Family Court and frequently produces agreements that avoid a contested hearing. For any contested custody dispute, consult a licensed South Carolina family-law attorney to develop a case strategy tailored to the specific factors in play.

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This article is general legal information, not legal advice. Child custody law varies by state and turns on the specific facts of each family. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed family-law attorney in South Carolina.

Related pages: Child Custody Laws by State (hub) | South Carolina Child Support Laws | South Carolina Alimony Laws | South Carolina Emancipation Laws

More South Carolina Laws

• South Carolina Alimony Laws
• South Carolina Child Support Laws
• South Carolina Divorce Laws
• South Carolina Emancipation Laws
• South Carolina Restraining Order Laws