Charleston's marriage licenses fee highest in area
Money often causes friction in a marriage, so who can blame couples for trying to start their lives together with an extra $30 in their pockets?
Charleston County Council thought it was a good idea to raise the cost of a marriage license to $70 a few years ago, but the decision may be sending a growing number of starry-eyed couples across the county line to Dorchester County, where the same license costs only $40.
Or even to Berkeley County, where it costs $50.
While a marriage license from any county is valid anywhere in South Carolina, the individual counties are allowed to set their own rates, opening up new possibilities for prenuptial bargain hunters.
Obtaining marriage licenses in the tri-county area
Rebecca Marchant, court coordinator for the Dorchester County probate judge, said she doesn't know how many such people there are, but she knows some exist.
"As far as the price, I've heard Charleston County people say, 'We'd rather drive a little bit farther than pay the extra $30.' "
Dorchester County has seen a spike in marriage licenses; 791 were issued last year, up from 645 in 2007, but Marchant said that may have as much to do with the county's decision to issue marriage licenses in Summerville and St. George as it does with Charleston's higher license fee.
Tom Doughty, a North Charleston notary public who performs wedding ceremonies, said he encourages many couples to get their license in another county to save money.
Probate Judge Irvin Condon said Charleston's license rate is lower than Beaufort County charges for couples who don't reside there, but the rate is set by County Council, not his office. "The judge doesn't set it, and it doesn't go back into the judge's pocket," he said.
Related story
Wedding bell blues, published 5/20/09
Charleston's relatively high rate doesn't seem to have decreased its income, but license fees have plateaued. The county's marriage license income amounted to about $200,000 during each of the past four years. The county had collected $144,231 through March 2009, the first nine months of this fiscal year.
Condon said that while the $70 license fee may not make many people happy, he noted it's a bargain compared to a divorce filing, which costs $150.
He also recalled an elderly judge's observation: "He said, 'If you can't afford the fee, you probably shouldn't be getting married.' "
Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771 or at rbehre@postandcourier.com.
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Comments
eyecantspel (anonymous) says...
Crack and meth are illegal because they ruin people's lives. Marriage, though, remains legal.
Top Ten Reasons to Get Married, Even if it Cost a Little More....
1. Nothing says love like a life long legal contract stating your economic life ends if the love does.
2. Nothing is hotter than life long monogamy.
3. Married people seem so happy.
4. For guys it means someone to do the dishes, after (a) you get nagged to death to do them, (b) you give in and do the dishes, but then do such a terrible job you get nagged about it, she then gives up nagging you to do the dishes ever again. (c) she doubles up the nagging in other areas to make up for her, gasp, having to load the dishwasher. This way, everyone wins.
5. After some awkard years "pre-kids" where you both start kinda wanting to hang out with friends more and start to drift apart, you can decide to solve your relationships problems by having children. Wise, wise move.
6. Married people have easy schedules (work, tv, sleep). Singles people have it rough (work, party, intercourse, little sleep)
7. Isn't the extra few bucks for the licence worth the chance to meet down the road some of the greatest people on earth, divorce lawyers?
8. Being married means you don't have to spend money buying women drinks and food in the hopes of scoring, because the odds of scoring are likely nil.
9. Married guys are gutsy; they do things most real men would never do. Examples: buying tampons, putting up with nagging, giving up their friends and families, and new-to- our generation, raising another man's kids. Please, don't be the guy who talks about "my kids" and shows pictures of kids who look like someone else. That someone else is probably drunk in a strip club, spending cash with the burn rate of GM while you go out and give up your life to work all day to support kids that aren't yours.... all because you were dating a single mom and she started with the "my kids need a dad" and "I'm looking for a husband and father, not a fling".
10. Recent surveys show that during a course of a marriage 65% of the married people have cheated, while 35% haved lied to pollesters about if they cheated on their spouce.
May 20, 2009 at 3:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
lillycollette (anonymous) says...
A Charleston County marriage license-what a travesty-what a sham-News Flash-film at 11:00 :
The men in this reading area better check and be sure that they haven't already been unknowingly married off through acts of fraud and forgery. I have discovered two (2) separate incidences of such scheming in that Charleston County office and NO ONE in that county wants this case brought to justice.
Ya been warned boys.
May 20, 2009 at 4:52 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
lillycollette (anonymous) says...
Google -- paternity fraud.
May 20, 2009 at 5:20 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
follydude (anonymous) says...
i prefer common law marriage.
May 20, 2009 at 7:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Two_Sheds (anonymous) says...
Another reason that marriage is better than "shacking up": if the man (or woman) who owns the house decides to kick your butt to the curb over a petty fight, at least with marriage you have some legal recourse. If you're not married and get kicked out of someone else's house, you're pretty much screwed. I've seen it happen with friends...not pretty.
May 20, 2009 at 7:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mb300sl (anonymous) says...
$150 for the divorce filing is just the beginning...
May 20, 2009 at 8:18 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
highclass (anonymous) says...
I think they should raise the rate to $150. And lower the rate to file for divorce to $40. Make it harder to get married and that would lower the divorce rate.
May 20, 2009 at 8:18 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
majorjohnson (anonymous) says...
These are state licenses, not county licenses. The only thing the county does is process the paperwork for the state and charge for it. They no longer need to be handled at the county level like they did back in the horse and buggy days when there were no state offices in many counties, now we have state business offices throughout the counties like the dmv offices, and more of them and easier to get to, so there is no value anymore in the counties selling state licenses. Move this activity to the state buildings and get the county out of it.
May 20, 2009 at 10:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mb300sl (anonymous) says...
highclass: How about $10,000 to get married and $10 to get a divorce? That would really slow down the number of both...
great idea!
May 20, 2009 at 10:39 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
geekboy (anonymous) says...
Divorce: The screwing you get for the screwing you got.
May 20, 2009 at 11:05 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
beefsaver (anonymous) says...
While I hate paying fees as much as the next guy, "HighClass" does have a point: it is far too easy to get married, and obviously not just here. I've known at least 10 couples that continued with wedding plans, despite fundamental differences that arose during engagement. Why? Because they'd already dropped the deposit on the florist and whatnot. Divorce came right around the corner in the 6-24 month range. I wonder if an effective marriage education course (funded by the license fee, perhaps?) in the spirit of the Catholic Church's "Pre-Cana Program" would make a dent in divorce rates. Most of that course deals not with religion, but instead figuring out whether you have compatible goals for finances, career aspirations, and children... you know the small stuff.
That being said, the county isn't doing this on any ethical ground, they're just capitalizing on the thriving wedding industry here. It is a "tax" on tourists (I didn't actually live here when I got married here) and locals alike.
Oh, and I'm not surprised to see a post like "eyecantspel's" leading this discussion... the internet is rife with bitter divorcees. I am a no-kidding happily married man, toddler and mortgage included, believe it or not.
May 20, 2009 at 11:40 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
KML123 (anonymous) says...
Mr.Doughty married my husband and me last week, he was great. he told me to go to st george or monks corner
May 20, 2009 at 4:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
walleyedwoman1215 (anonymous) says...
My second husband and I have been joyfully married for four years. He has poker nights; I have my solitary six-mile runs. No drama, no jealousy... and no blaming each other for setbacks. Life is short--why not love the one you live with?
May 20, 2009 at 9:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Frosty (anonymous) says...
Yes divorce can be a plus then you get alimony until the skunk die!!!!
May 21, 2009 at 1:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
babeegurl (anonymous) says...
My husband and I payed the 70 dollars to get married 4 years ago and I thought that was a bargain to get married so I don't know why anyone would really complain about that. 70 dollars to spend eternity with someone you love(considering you actually marry for the right reasons) I think is well worth it!
May 24, 2009 at 8:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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