COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) – “Til death do us part” is a vow most couples take when they marry, but not all marriages keep it.
In some cases, when a couple decides to divorce, one spouse has to pay alimony. There are several types of alimony in South Carolina, including rehabilitation alimony, which is paid for a specified number of years. There are also lump sum alimony payments that can be paid all at once or in multiple payments. Periodic child support, which experts say is the most common type of child support in South Carolina, must be paid until either the person dies or the person receiving the payment remarries or lives with someone for at least three months.
A couple in the US state said they could be forced to lose their home due to ongoing child support payments.
“This is my whole world,” said Joe, 81, of his wife Rachel.
Joe and Rachel have been married for 30 years. Both asked us not to use their last name for this story.
“He’s a strong man because he had malignant lung cancer, he had colon surgery, he had knee surgery, he had back surgery,” Rachel said.
Joe has weathered the health issues, but there’s something he hasn’t gotten away from in decades.
“I paid almost half a million dollars in child support,” Joe said.
Joe has been paying child support to his first wife for 35 years, longer than their marriage.
“It brings me down. All the investments that I made, investments and the property that I bought and all that, it’s all gone because I have my mortgage here and I have alimony to pay. It’s just bringing me down bit by bit,” Joe said.
Members of the South Carolina Alimony Reform group want to change the way child support is paid in the state.
“We just don’t want permanent alimony to be the honor of the day, so to speak,” said Melissa Cash, Upstate advocate for South Carolina’s Alimony Reform.
Permanent alimony payments can be changed by a judge. In 2010, Joe said a judge cut his payments from $1,600 a month to $1,100. He couldn’t try to cut his payments again because he can’t afford a lawyer.
“I’ve been trying my best not to fall behind and it’s getting harder and harder,” said Joe.
Joe and Rachel know they may have to sell their house to continue paying child support. They say they don’t know where they’re going when that happens.
“It’ll kill me, but it’s material things. True love is each other,” Rachel said.
The South Carolina Alimony Reform isn’t trying to eliminate child support, they just want to change the way it works.
“Alimony for a reasonable period of time to make the transition from marriage to single is certainly reasonable and appropriate,” Cash said.
Joe and Rachel work with the group and hope to make a difference. They say that while things may not change for them, they hope they can help other people.
Bills are under review that could make changes to South Carolina’s child support laws. Some divorce lawyers say the change isn’t needed, saying the system is fine the way it is and we should trust the judges making the decisions.
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