South Dakota divorce laws
Child
Support
 Either
or both parents may be ordered to provide
child support. There are official child support
guidelines set by South Dakota divorce
laws ( aka South Dakota divorce statutes),
and upon request for deviation, they can
be altered based on the following considerations: 1.) The
financial condition of either parent that
would make application of the schedule inequitable, 2.) Income
tax consequences 3.) Any special needs of the child, 4.) Income
from other sources, 5.) The effect of custody
and visitation provisions child support,
6.) Childcare expenses necessary to obtain
employment, education, or training, 7.) Agreements
between the parents which provide other forms
of support for the direct benefit of the
child child support, 8.) A voluntary reduction
in the income of either parent, and 9.) Any
other support obligations of a parent.
The parents of a child are jointly and severally
(individually) obligated for the care and support of the child. Until established
by a court order, the minimum child support obligation of a parent who
has left the home, is the obligor's share of the amount shown in the support
guidelines, beginning on the first day of the absence. South Dakota courts
will consider the following to determine income:
- The monthly gross income of each parent
- Self-employment income
- Periodic payments from pensions or retirement programs
- Interest, dividends, rentals, royalties, or other gain derived from investment of capital assets;
- Gain or loss from the sale, trade, or conversion
- Unemployment insurance benefits;
- Worker's compensation benefits; and
- Benefits in lieu of compensation including military pay allowances
If the income of the parents is derived from seasonal employment, or received in payments other than regular, recurring payments such income shall be annualized to determine a monthly average income.
| Divorce Myth: Having a child together will help a couple to improve their marital satisfaction and prevent a divorce. Reality: Many studies have shown that the most stressful time in a marriage is after the first child is born. Couples who have a child together have a slightly decreased risk of divorce compared to couples without children, but the decreased risk is far less than it used to be when parents with marital problems were more likely to stay together “for the sake of the children”. |
Residency 
As provided for in South Dakota divorce laws,
the plaintiff must be a resident of this
state at the time of filing, or be stationed
in this state while a member of the armed
services, and in order that each party be
entitled to the entry of a decree or judgment of divorce
or separate maintenance, that residence or
military presence must be maintained until
the decree is entered. This simply means
that, excluding military service where you
are stationed elsewhere, you must continue
to be a resident of South Dakota until the
decree of dissolution is made.
Child
Custody
 In any custody dispute between parents, the court may order joint legal custody so that both parents retain full parental rights and responsibilities with respect to their child and so that both parents must confer on major decisions affecting the welfare of the child.
In ordering joint legal custody, the court may consider the expressed desires of the parents and may grant to one party the ultimate responsibility over specific aspects of the child's welfare or may divide those aspects between the parties based on the best interest of the child. If it appears to the court to be in the best interest of the child, the court may order, or the parties may agree, how any such responsibility shall be divided. Such areas of responsibility may include primary physical residence, education, medical and dental care, and any other responsibilities which the court finds unique to a particular family or in the best interest of the child.
Guided by South Dakota divorce statutes,
the court may, before or after judgment,
give such direction for the custody, care,
and education of the children of the marriage
as may seem necessary or proper, and may
at any time vacate or modify the same. In
awarding the custody of a child, the court
will be guided by consideration of what appears
to be for the best interests of the child
in respect to the child's temporal and mental and moral welfare. If the
child is of a sufficient age to form an intelligent preference, the
court may consider that preference in determining
the question. As between parents adversely claiming the custody, neither
parent may be given preference over the other in
determining custody.
Fault will not be taken into account with regard to the awarding of property or the awarding of child custody, except as it may be relevant to the acquisition of property during the marriage or to the fitness of either parent in awarding the custody of children.
| Divorce Myth: Following divorce, the woman’s standard of living plummets by seventy three percent while that of the man’s improves by forty two percent. Reality: This dramatic inequity, one of the most widely publicized statistics from the social sciences, was later found to be based on a faulty calculation. A reanalysis of the data determined that the woman’s loss was twenty seven percent while the man’s gain was ten percent. Irrespective of the magnitude of the differences, the gender gap is real and seems not to have narrowed much in recent decades. |
Grounds
for Divorce
Marriage is dissolved by South Dakota divorce
statutes only:
- By the death of one of the parties; or
- By the judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction decreeing a divorce of the parties. The effect of such judgment is to restore the parties to the state of unmarried persons
Grounds for divorce. Divorces may be granted for any of the following causes:
- Adultery;
- Extreme cruelty;
- Willful desertion;
- Willful neglect;
- Habitual intemperance;
- Conviction of felony;
- Irreconcilable differences
If the court finds that there are irreconcilable
differences, which have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage,
it will order the dissolution of the marriage or a legal separation. However,
If it appears that there is a reasonable possibility of reconciliation,
the court will continue the proceeding for a period not to exceed thirty
days. Sometimes the courts do this because they feel emotions may be running
high and that some time may cause the parties to re-think their positions.
Mediation
 South Dakota courts have the latitude to order mediation to assist the parties in formulating or modifying a plan, or in implementing a plan, for custody or visitation. The costs of such mediation would be borne by the parties. Additionally, the court may initiate any investigation to assist it in making a custody or visitation determination.
| Divorce Myth: When parents don’t get along, children are better off if their parents divorce than if they stay together. Reality: A recent large-scale, long-term study suggests otherwise. While it found that parents’ marital unhappiness and discord have a broad negative impact on virtually every dimension of their children’s well-being, so does the fact of going through a divorce. In examining the negative impacts on children more closely, the study discovered that it was only the children in very high conflict homes who benefited from the conflict removal that divorce may bring. In lower-conflict marriages that end in divorce—and the study found that perhaps as many as two thirds of the divorces were of this type—the situation of the children was made much worse following a divorce. Based on the findings of this study, therefore, except in the minority of high-conflict marriages it is better for the children if their parents stay together and work out their problems than if they divorce. |
Alimony
 South
Dakota divorce laws allow for temporary alimony
or maintenance (pen dente lite), which may
be ordered while the divorce is pending.
This can include the support of minor children
and any obligation that may be the responsibility
of either party. In many instances divorce
recovery depends on transitional financial
support.
An action for separate maintenance may be maintained without request for divorce, upon any grounds which would be grounds for divorce, and in such cases the court shall have power to award temporary alimony, suit money, and permanent support for a spouse and the children of the parties, or any of them, by the other spouse.
Where a divorce is granted, the court may compel one party to make such suitable allowance to the other party for support during the life of that other party or for a shorter period, as the court may deem just, having regard to the circumstances of the parties represented; and the court may from time to time modify its orders in these respects.
Waiting
Period
An action for divorce or separate maintenance will not be heard, tried, or determined by the court until at least sixty days have elapsed from the completed service of the plaintiff's summons and complaint therein.
Grandparents
Rights
Federal law and South Dakota divorce statutes
allow grandparents the right to petition
the courts for visitation by grandchildren. The circuit
court can grant reasonable rights of visitation
with their grandchild, with or without petition
by the grandparents, if the visitation is
in the best interests of the grandchild and:
- If the visitation will not significantly interfere with the parent- child relationship; or
- If the parent or custodian of the grandchild has denied or prevented the grandparent reasonable opportunity to visit the grandchild.
Divorce
Settlement
South Dakota is referred to as an "equitable distribution" state.
When a divorce is granted, the courts may make an equitable division of the property belonging to either or both, whether the title to such property is in the name of the husband or the wife. In making such division of the property, the court will have regard for equity and the circumstances of the parties. The following factors will be considered by the court when making a property award upon divorce;
- the contribution each spouse had to the acquisition of the marital property; the value of each spouses separate property;
- the amount of time the spouse have been married;
- the age and health condition of each spouse;
- the current and future earning capacity of each spouse; and the value of the property being distribution as well as the income potential of that property.
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