Terms Used In South Carolina Code 20-3-610

• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• marital property: as used in this article means all real and personal property which has been acquired by the parties during the marriage and which is owned as of the date of filing or commencement of marital litigation as provided in § 20-3-620 regardless of how legal title is held, except the following, which constitute nonmarital property:
  
  (1) property acquired by either party by inheritance, devise, bequest, or gift from a party other than the spouse;
  
  (2) property acquired by either party before the marriage and property acquired after the happening of the earliest of:
  
  (a) entry of a pendente lite order in a divorce or separate maintenance action;
  
  (b) formal signing of a written property or marital settlement agreement; or
  
  (c) entry of a permanent order of separate maintenance and support or of a permanent order approving a property or marital settlement agreement between the parties;
  
  (3) property acquired by either party in exchange for property described in items (1) and (2) of this section;
  
  (4) property excluded by written contract of the parties. See South Carolina Code 20-3-630