South Carolina H 3085: Personal property

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3085 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 06, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3085

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH 
CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 63-15-220, RELATING TO PARENTING 
PLANS, SO AS TO CREATE A REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION THAT IT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST 
OF THE CHILD TO SPEND APPROXIMATELY AN EQUAL AMOUNT OF TIME WITH EACH PARENT 
WHEN BOTH PARENTS ARE WILLING, ABLE, AND FIT; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 
63-15-240, RELATING TO CHILD CUSTODY ORDERS, SO AS TO REQUIRE THE COURT TO TAKE 
INTO CONSIDERATION CERTAIN FACTORS WHEN DETERMINING WHAT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST 
OF A CHILD, TO REQUIRE THAT A CHILD CUSTODY ORDER INCLUDE FINDINGS OF FACT IF 
THE TIME-SHARING SCHEDULE DOES NOT ALLOCATE APPROXIMATELY EQUAL PARENTING TIME 
TO EACH PARENT, AND TO PROVIDE REQUIREMENTS TO MODIFY CHILD CUSTODY ORDERS.

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Section 63-15-220 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 Section 
63-15-220. (A)(1) 
At all temporary hearings where custody is contested, each parent must prepare, 
file, and submit to the court a parenting plan, which reflects parental 
preferences, the allocation of parenting time to be spent with each parent, and 
major decisions, including, but not limited to, the child's education, medical 
and dental care, extracurricular activities and religious training. However, 
the parties may elect to prepare, file, and submit a joint parenting plan.

 (2) There is a rebuttable presumption 
that a time-sharing schedule of approximately equal allocation of parenting 
time to each parent is in the best interest of the child when both parents are 
willing, able, and fit. In determining whether the presumption is rebutted, the 
court shall evaluate the evidence taking into consideration the best interest 
of the child pursuant to Section 63-15-240(B).

 (3) The court shall issue 
temporary and final custody orders only after considering these parenting 
plans; however, the failure by a party to submit a parenting plan to the court 
does not preclude the court from issuing a temporary or final custody order.

 (B) 
At the final hearing, either party may file and submit an updated parenting 
plan for the court's consideration.

 (C) 
The South Carolina Supreme Court shall develop rules and forms for the 
implementation of the parenting plan.

SECTION 2. Section 63-15-240 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 Section 
63-15-240. (A) In issuing or 
modifying an order for custody affecting the rights and responsibilities of the 
parents, the order may include, but is not limited to:

 (1) 
the approval of a parenting plan;

 (2) 
the award of sole custody to one parent with appropriate parenting time for the 
noncustodial parent;

 (3) 
the award of joint custody, in which case the order must include:

 (a) 
residential arrangements with each parent in accordance with the needs of each 
child; and

 (b) 
how consultations and communications between the parents will take place, 
generally and specifically, with regard to major decisions concerning the child's 
health, medical and dental care, education, extracurricular activities, and 
religious training;

 (4) 
other custody arrangements as the court may determine to be in the best 
interest of the child.

 (B) 
In issuing or modifying a custody order, the court must consider the best 
interest of the child, which may include, but is not limited to:

 (1) 
the temperament and developmental needs of the child;

 (2) 
the capacity and the disposition of the parents to understand and meet the 
needs of the child;

 (3) 
the preferences of each child;

 (4) 
the wishes of the parents as to custody;

 (5) 
the past and current interaction and relationship of the child with each 
parent, the child's siblings, and any other person, including a grandparent, 
who may significantly affect the best interest of the child;

 (6) 
the actions of each parent to encourage the continuing parent-child 
relationship between the child and the other parent, as is appropriate, 
including compliance with court orders;

 (7) 
the manipulation by or coercive behavior of the parents in an effort to involve 
the child in the parents' dispute;

 (8) 
any effort by one parent to disparage the other parent in front of the child;

 (9) 
the ability of each parent to be actively involved in the life of the child;

 (10) 
the child's adjustment to his or her home, school, and community environments;

 (11) 
the stability of the child's existing and proposed residences;

 (12) 
the mental and physical health of all individuals involved, except that a 
disability of a proposed custodial parent or other party, in and of itself, 
must not be determinative of custody unless the proposed custodial