South Carolina H 5446: Child Financial Assistance Act

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 5446 Text of Previous Version (Mar. 26, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 5446

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 ENACTING THE "CHILD FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE ACT" BY 
ADDING ARTICLE 25 TO CHAPTER 17, TITLE 63 SO AS TO CREATE A CIVIL PROCESS TO 
PETITION THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR AN ORDER REQUIRING A PERSON WHO CAUSES THE DEATH 
OF THE PARENT OR GUARDIAN OF A MINOR CHILD TO PAY FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR 
SUPPORT OF THE CHILD, WITH EXCEPTIONS, TO REQUIRE AN EVIDENTIARY HEARING AND 
THE CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN FACTORS AS PART OF DETERMINING APPROPRIATE 
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 
17-25-322, RELATING TO RESTITUTION FOR CRIME VICTIMS, SO AS TO MAKE CONFORMING 
CHANGES.

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

SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the "Child Financial Assistance Act."

SECTION 2. Chapter 17, Title 63 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

Article 25

Child Financial Assistance

 Section 
63-17-4100. (A) The parent or guardian 
of a minor child under the age of sixteen may file a petition in circuit court in 
the circuit of residence of the minor child for an order seeking financial 
assistance for support of the child from a person who caused the death of the 
child's other parent or guardian, regardless of any potential, pending, or 
concluded civil or criminal proceeding against the person related to the death 
of the child's other parent or guardian.

 (B) 
The court shall hold an evidentiary hearing to determine by a preponderance of 
the evidence whether the person's conduct caused the death of the child's other 
parent or guardian and, if so, the financial assistance for support due, 
ordering the person to pay an amount that is reasonable and necessary to 
support the child through the child's sixteenth birthday, considering all 
relevant factors, including:

 (1) 
the financial needs and resources of the child;

 (2) 
the extent to which the deceased parent or guardian financially supported the 
child;

 (3) 
the financial needs and resources of the surviving parent or guardian or other 
current guardian of the child, including the State, if the State is the 
guardian;

 (4) 
the standard of living to which the child is accustomed;

 (5) 
the physical and emotional condition of the child and the child's educational 
needs;

 (6) 
the child's physical and legal custody arrangements;

 (7) 
the reasonable work-related childcare expenses of the surviving parent or 
guardian or other current guardian, if applicable; and

 (8) 
the financial resources of the person from whom financial assistance to support 
the child is sought.

 (C)(1) An order of financial assistance 
for support of the child pursuant to this section must require payments to be:

 (a) 
delivered in the manner described pursuant to subsection (D), as appropriate; 
and

 (b) 
directed to the parent or guardian of the child, who is the child's caregiver, 
for the child's benefit.

 (2) 
If the State is the guardian of the child, the financial assistance paid to the 
State pursuant to item (1) must be deposited in an interest-bearing account for 
the benefit of the minor child and paid to the child upon emancipation from the 
State.

 (D) 
An order of financial assistance for support of the child must require the 
person to:

 (1) 
make payments directly to the child's caregiver, whether the child's surviving 
parent or the child's guardian, for the child's benefit; or

 (2) 
deliver the amount due to the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole 
and Pardon Services or to the South Carolina Department of Corrections for 
transfer to the child's caregiver, in accordance with item (1), if the person 
is incarcerated or on probation or parole.

 (E) 
An order requiring a person to make payments of financial assistance for 
support of the child is due and payable according to its terms as of the date 
of entry of the order. The order establishing the amount and schedule of child 
assistance payments must:

 (1) 
include notice to the person that failure to pay child financial assistance as 
ordered may result in wage withholding;

 (2) 
require the person to provide requisite consent to wage withholding and 
complete forms to authorize wage withholding by the court with the person's 
employer; and

 (3) 
require the person to notify the court, and the child's caregiver to whom child 
financial assistance payments are made, any time the person changes employment, 
for the purposes of updating the court with information needed to facilitate appropriate 
wage withholding.

 Section 
63-17-4110. If a person ordered to pay financial assistance for support of the 
child pursuant to Section 63-17-4100 is unable to m