Divorce money in South Dakota: property, support, legal fees and whether the state taxes alimony
The money picture for a divorce in South Dakota: how property gets divided, what South Dakota calls spousal support and how it is decided, whether one spouse can be made to pay the other’s legal fees while the case is running, and — the part nobody publishes — whether South Dakota’s own income tax follows the federal rule on alimony.
See a different stateSouth Dakota
Every claim is traced to South Dakota’s own statute, court rule or revenue department, quoted where the wording carries the meaning. Where we could not verify something, the page says so instead of filling the space. Information, not legal advice — and tax questions in particular need a professional in your state. Corrections: thecusp.app/corrections.
Does South Dakota follow the federal alimony rule?
Since 2019, federal law has treated alimony as not deductible by the payer and not taxable to the recipient, for any instrument executed after 31 December 2018. Most people assume every state followed. Most did. Not all.
South Dakota levies no individual income tax, so there is no state-level treatment of alimony to conform or decouple; the federal TCJA rule (non-deductible/non-taxable for post-2018 instruments) has no state analog.
Source: South Dakota Department of Revenue – South Dakota has no personal income tax (South Dakota does not tax personal income of individuals) · source
Nationally: 36 states follow the federal rule, 9 have no income tax, 4 are decoupled, and 1 — Maine — we could not establish. The full fifty-state table and what each decoupled state does differently.
How property is divided
South Dakota is an equitable distribution state. That means the court divides marital property fairly, which is not a synonym for equally. What counts as marital rather than separate property is frequently the whole argument.
the courts may make an equitable division of the property belonging to either or both… the court shall have regard for equity and the circumstances of the parties
Source: SDCL 25-4-44
Alimony
South Dakota calls it alimony. Using the state’s own word matters when you are searching for forms or reading a statute.
There is no guideline calculation. A judge weighs the statutory factors and reaches a number.
This is the norm and it is why alimony is the least predictable figure in a divorce. Two judges can reach different answers on the same facts and both be right. It also means the strength of your evidence about income, earning capacity and the standard of living during the marriage does real work.
the court may compel one party to make such suitable allowance to the other party for support during the life of that other party or for a shorter period, as the court may deem just
Source: SDCL 25-4-41
Child support
South Dakota uses the income shares model — both parents’ incomes go into the calculation, and the result is apportioned between you.
Whichever model applies, this is the most predictable number in your case — there is a formula and a presumption that its output is correct. Deviating from it takes written findings. Run it early; it is free, and it anchors everything else.
Guideline: SDCL 25-7-6.2 (combined monthly net incomes of both parents used to determine obligation, divided proportionately based on respective net incomes)
How South Dakota calculates child support, in detail
Who pays for the lawyers
the court may in its discretion require one spouse to pay as alimony any money necessary to support the other spouse or the children of the parties, or to prosecute or defend the action
Source: SDCL 25-4-38
While an action for divorce is pending, the court may in its discretion require one spouse to pay as alimony any money necessary to support the other spouse or the children of the parties, or to prosecute or defend the action.
A fee award that only arrives at final judgment is close to worthless to someone who could not afford a lawyer during the case. By then it is over. An interim award is what stops a wealthier spouse winning by attrition.
If you are the lower earner, this is the single most actionable thing on this page. Ask at the first meeting, in these words: “Can we move for an interim award of attorney fees now?” Do not let “we will deal with fees at the end” pass unexamined.
Separately, if custody is contested you may be ordered to pay for a guardian ad litem or a custody evaluator, and the court decides how to split that. What that costs in South Dakota, and who bears it.
The thing worth knowing about South Dakota
SDCL 25-4-45.1 expressly bars consideration of marital fault in awarding property, except as fault is relevant to the acquisition of property during the marriage or to a parent’s fitness for custody.