Title 25, DOMESTIC RELATIONS

If after arrest and before trial or after conviction and before sentence, the party arrested or convicted pursuant to § 25-7-4 or §§ 25-7-16 to 25-7-20 , inclusive, shall appear before the court in which the case is pending or the conviction had and enter into an undertaking to t…

The undertaking shall remain in force so long as the court deems necessary, but whenever it shall appear to the court, by affidavit or otherwise, that the defendant is then, and for a reasonable time prior thereto has been in good faith, furnishing his or her spouse or child with…

If a defendant fails to comply with the undertaking, he or she may be arrested on a warrant issued from the court in which the case is pending or the conviction was had. The court may thereupon order a forfeiture of the undertaking and that the defendant be tried or committed in …

In any civil or administrative action provided by law for the enforcement of support, any person owing the support may be required to give security, or post a bond or undertaking to secure payment of the overdue support. Notice shall be sent to the obligor regarding the proposed …

Any adult child, having the financial ability to do so, shall provide necessary food, clothing, shelter, or medical attendance for a parent who is unable to provide for oneself. However, no claim may be made against such adult child until the adult child is given written notice t…

In the event necessary food, clothing, shelter, or medical attendance is provided for a parent by a child, he shall have the right of contribution from his adult brothers and sisters, who refuse or do not assist in such maintenance, on a pro rata share to the extent of their abil…

A person abandoned by his or her spouse is not liable for the spouse's support until the spouse offers to return, unless the spouse was justified by the person's misconduct in abandoning him or her. A person is not liable for a spouse's support when the spouse is living separate …

No other evidence shall be required to prove marriage of husband and wife, or that a person is the lawful father or mother of a child or children, than is or shall be required to prove such facts in a civil action. Source: SDC 1939, § 13.3207 as enacted by SL 1963, ch 56 , § 1.

For the purposes of § 25-7-38 , the term, chronically delinquent, means the child support is paid ten or more days after the date the child support is due in each of three or more months in any twelve-month consecutive period, or the child support paid is less than ninety percent…

An obligor found to be chronically delinquent in child support payments or installments as required under an order for support, as defined in § 25-7A-1 , is subject to a late payment fee equal to ten percent of the ordered child support or fifty dollars, whichever is greater, for…

Every person with sufficient ability to provide for his or her spouse's support, or who is able to earn the means of the spouse's support, who intentionally abandons and leaves his or her spouse in a destitute condition, or who refuses or neglects to provide such spouse with nece…

A person shall support his or her spouse, when the spouse has not deserted him or her, out of his or her separate property, when the spouse has no separate property and the spouse is unable from infirmity to support himself or herself. Source: SDC 1939, § 14.0209; SL 1984, ch 12 …

The parents of a child are jointly and severally obligated for the necessary maintenance, education, and support of the child in accordance with their respective means. Until established by a court order, the minimum child support obligation of a parent who fails to furnish maint…

Deviation from the schedule in § 25-7-6.2 must be considered if raised by either party and made only upon the entry of specific findings based upon any of the following factors: (1) The income of a subsequent spouse or contribution of a third party to the income or expenses of th…

The court setting the support shall have the authority to require periodic adjustments in the support. Source: SL 1989, ch 220 , § 11.

The Governor shall, commencing in the year 2000, establish quadrennially a commission on child support. The commission shall review the provisions of this chapter, shall report its findings to the Governor and the Legislature, and may propose amendment thereof to the Legislature.…

All orders for support entered and in effect prior to July 1, 2026, may be modified in accordance with this chapter, without requiring a showing of a change in circumstances from the entry of the order. If a parent incarcerated for more than one hundred eighty days is released fr…

If the child resides with the obligor six or more nights in a month pursuant to a custody order, the court may, if deemed appropriate under the circumstances, grant an abatement of not less than thirty-eight percent nor more than sixty-six percent of the basic child support oblig…

If travel costs are substantial due to the distance between the parents, the court may order the allocation of such costs, taking into consideration the circumstances of the respective parties as well as which parent moved and the reason that the move was made. Source: SL 1989, c…

The court shall enter an order addressing how the child's health care needs will be met by medical support. The medical support order must include a provision for medical insurance if the insurance is accessible for the child and available to a parent at reasonable cost. Enrollme…

In cases resulting in an adjustment of more than twenty - five percent in the support award, the court may phase in the adjustment over time. Source: SL 1989, ch 220 , § 17.

The court may enter an order allocating the reasonable child care expenses for the child, which are due to employment of either parent, job search of either parent, or the training or education of either parent necessary to obtain a job or enhance earning potential. The court may…

Notwithstanding the provisions of § 25-7A-17 or 25-7-7.3 , if, by agreement of the parties, or by court order, the obligor had primary physical custody of the child for more than four consecutive months, the court may credit the obligor for child support arrearages that accumulat…

The child support obligation must be established in accordance with the following schedule subject to the revisions or deviations as permitted by this chapter. Except as provided in this chapter, the combined monthly net incomes of both parents must be used in determining the obl…

Any payment or installment of support under an order for support, as defined by § 25-7A-1 , whether entered by a court or an administrative entity of this state or any other state or jurisdiction, which is unpaid after the date it is due, is a lien by operation of law, with the f…

If the child receives social security or veteran's dependent benefits as a result of the obligor's disability, or social security retirement benefits from the obligor, the obligor is entitled to a credit to the amount of the monthly support obligation. Source: SL 2005, ch 134 , §…

If a parent has annual primary employment earnings that equal or exceed the current state minimum hourly wage multiplied by one thousand eight hundred twenty hours, there is a rebuttable presumption that a parent's second job income is not to be considered in establishing a suppo…

If the parents have two or more children between them and each parent has primary physical custody of at least one child, the child support obligation shall be determined by computing the amount of each parent's respective support obligation for the children in the other parent's…

If the parents of a child have agreed to a change in the physical custody of the child without the court's approval, the parent who relinquished physical custody may be ordered to pay child support to the parent who gained physical custody of the child even though the custody ord…

The department shall create and distribute a standardized form to allow a parent, guardian, or other custodian to request reimbursement of any medical or health care costs from the responsible parent. A parent, guardian, or custodian may use the small claims procedure of chapter …

A court may impute a parent's income for purposes of child support if: (1) The parent does not produce sufficient proof of income; (2) The parent's employment status is unknown; (3) The parent is underemployed; or (4) The parent is unemployed. The income amount imputed may not be…

If a custody order by the court, contains a detailed shared parenting plan which provides that the child will reside no less than one hundred eighty nights per calendar year in each parent's home, and that the parents will share the duties and responsibilities of parenting the ch…

For the purposes of §§ 25-7-6.14 and 25-7-6.27 , a child resides with a parent for a night if the child sleeps: (1) At the residence of that parent at night, whether or not the parent is present; or (2) In the company of the parent, if the child does not sleep at a parent's resid…

A written finding for the establishment or modification of a child support order that the application of the child support schedule in § 25-7-6.2 would be unjust or inappropriate in a case is sufficient to rebut the presumption in that case. The best interest of the child must be…

The monthly net income of each parent shall be determined by the parent's gross income less allowable deductions, as set forth in this chapter. The monthly gross income of each parent includes amounts received from the following sources: (1) Compensation paid to an employee for p…

It is presumed for the purposes of determining child support that a parent is capable of being employed and earning an annual gross income of not less than one thousand eight hundred twenty hours multiplied by the current state minimum wage. Source: SL 1989, ch 220 , § 4; SL 2009…

If a child's needs are not being met through the income of the parents, assets shall be considered. If the parents have savings, life insurance, or other assets in amounts unrelated to income, these holdings shall be considered. The parents' ability to borrow may be used to deter…

Gross income from a business, profession, farming, rentals, royalties, estates, trusts, or other sources, are the net profits or gain, or net losses shown on any or all schedules filed as part of the parents' federal income tax returns or as part of any federal income tax returns…

Deductions from monthly gross income must be allowed as follows: (1) Income taxes payable based on the applicable tax rate for a single taxpayer and a monthly payroll period rather than the actual tax rate; (2) Social security and Medicare taxes based on the applicable tax rate f…

For a combined net income above the schedule in § 25-7-6.2 , the child support obligation shall be established at an appropriate level, taking into account the actual needs and standard of living of the child. Source: SL 1989, ch 220 , § 9.

A parent's duty to support his child continues if the child is placed with the Department of Social Services for custody, for temporary guardianship, or for care and placement. Source: SL 1987, ch 189 , § 1.

The secretary of social services may, pursuant to chapter 1-26 , establish a fee schedule for all expenses incurred on a child's behalf while in the care of the department. Such fees may not exceed actual costs. Source: SL 1987, ch 189 , § 2.

Any previously ordered support payments that have become due, whether paid or unpaid, are not subject to modification by a court or administrative entity of this state, except those accruing in any period in which there is pending a petition for modification of the support obliga…

Any payment or installment of support under an order for support, as defined by § 25-7A-1 , whether entered by a court or an administrative entity of this state or of any other state or jurisdiction, which is unpaid after the date it is due, is a judgment by operation of law, wit…

In order to preserve such judgment against subsequent mortgages, purchasers, or judgment creditors for value and without actual notice of the lien on any property situated in a county, the support obligee or the secretary of the Department of Social Services may give notice of th…

If, at any time, unpaid child support arrearages exist, the court may order the support obligor to pay towards the arrearages such sums as are ordered by the court, in addition to any other remedies of the support obligee. Source: SL 2001, ch 133 , § 4.