Family court reform
South Carolina
Where South Carolina stands on each reform BMD tracks. General information, not legal advice.
Equal parenting time presumption
Bill in progress
Makes an equal, or approximately equal, parenting-time schedule the legal starting point in a custody case. The presumption is rebuttable, and a court that orders something else has to say why.
Bill: H. 4622 "Equal Parenting Act" (2025-2026 session); companion S. 901
Would create a rebuttable presumption of joint custody with equal or approximately equal parenting time and require written findings for any deviation. Residing in the House Judiciary Committee at last review.
Source: official bill or statute page
Reviewed 2026-10-06.
Deployed-parent custody protection
Passed
Enacts the Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act: a military deployment by itself is not a reason to change custody, orders made for the deployment are temporary and end with it, and a deploying parent may delegate parenting time.
Statute: S.C. Code Ann. 63-15-500 et seq.
Enacted the uniform act. Citation taken from the National Conference of State Legislatures military parent custody list; not separately confirmed against the state code.
Source: official bill or statute page
Reviewed 2026-10-06.
Parenting time interference remedies
No bill yet
Gives a parent denied court-ordered parenting time a real remedy - make-up or compensatory time, costs, or a penalty - rather than leaving contempt as the only route.
No bill of this kind is cited for South Carolina at the last review.
Reviewed 2026-10-13.