Looking for South Dakota‘s rules on marriage, divorce, child custody, and child support? Want to find South Dakota‘s state court forms and instructions and local court websites? Here’s where to start. For a wide range of other articles on family law in South Dakota, see the Resources by State section on this site.
Marriage Rules in South Dakota
Requirements: No blood test required. You must be of the age of consent, not be too closely related to your intended spouse, not be married to anyone else, and have sufficient mental capacity, meaning you understand what you are doing when you marry. You can marry immediately after your marriage license is issued, and your license is good for 20 days. For more details, check your county clerk’s office.
Common law marriage: No.
Community property: No.
Same-sex marriage: No.
South Dakota Divorce Rules
Grounds for divorce: Fault or no-fault grounds are allowed.
Residency requirement: The person filing must be a resident or a member of the armed forces stationed in the state,
How property is divided: Equitable division.
Child Custody Rules in South Dakota
Child custody guidelines: South Dakota courts begin with a presumption that it’s best for a child to have frequent and continuing contact with both parents after a divorce. If possible, judges want to support joint custody arrangements.
South Dakota Child Support Rules
Child support guidelines: South Dakota requires all parents to support their children. The amount of child support depends primarily on each parent’s income and other resources and how much time each parent spends with the children.
Child support calculators to determine state guidelines: www.alllaw.com/calculators/childsupport/south_dakota.
State child support enforcement agency: Division of Child Support, www.dss.sd.gov/childsupport.
South Dakota Courts and Family Law Resources
South Dakota court information and family law forms: www.sdjudicial.com.
Family services section of South Dakota website: www.dss.sd.gov/divisions.
