I have increasingly come to the conclusion that being a guardian ad litem in South Carolina for private custody cases is an impossible task if one is going to do it well. The system, as currently constituted, weeds out good guardians while leaving the ineffectual and milquetoast in place. The work has become so distasteful [...]
Archive for the ‘Not South Carolina Specific’ Category
Did the attorney believe in my case?
A colleague of mine recently blogged about “How to Find the Right Divorce Attorney for You.” Among the checklist of questions the prospective client was suggested to consider in retaining counsel was, “Did the attorney believe in my case?” That’s a question numerous prospective clients ask themselves when searching for an attorney. I suspect I [...]
Woe be unto dabblers
The past few weeks I’ve taken over a few cases from dabblers, provided second opinions to a few family court litigants represented by dabblers, litigated a few family court cases against dabblers, defended a visitation modification case against a non-dabbler, and have dabbled myself in an appeal in an area outside my usual practice. These [...]
Counseling the aggrieved spouse to move on
I finalized a divorce earlier this week in which the other party discovered my client’s adultery a few years ago and filed for divorce twenty months ago. The case ended with my client agreeing to pay six-figure lump sum alimony. Yet at the divorce hearing, my client was relaxed and happy while his soon-to-be-ex looked [...]
Combining rehabilitative and permanent alimony
For reasons that are only marginally explicable, South Carolina attorneys and judges are reluctant to issue orders or enter agreements that combine rehabilitative alimony with permanent alimony. However, there are common circumstances in which a combined alimony award makes sense. Permanent periodic alimony is designed to allow a supported spouse to maintain the marital lifestyle [...]
Stupid (overly broad and vague) parental restraining orders
My one-man war against overly broad restraining orders continued this week, as I observe an accelerating trend towards guardians, litigants and judges wanting to micro-manage the small details of parenting. At a recent mediation the mediator assumed my client would agree with the guardian’s recommended restraints. Included in those recommendations were requests that the parents: [...]
I’ve got new plans for Valentine’s Day
The parade of human misery passing by judges dealing with marital disputes must lead many to despair. The rare tales of a judge doing something creative to resolve these disputes are often amusing. Consider the Florida judge who finding a husband’s domestic violence towards his wife to be “very, very minor,” sentenced him to take [...]
My newest protégé
I was honored to attend the swearing in yesterday of Jeff Schreiber, my newest protégé under the South Carolina Supreme Court’s Pilot Mentor Program. For the first time since I volunteered for this program in 2009, I will have known my protégé before he or she (mostly she) became my protégé. This is because for the [...]