Trial preparation a family court client should do before trial (or how to save yourself tens of thousands in fees and get a better result)

Posted Sunday, February 12th, 2023 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Attorney-Client Relations, Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys

This is part one of a two-part blog inspired/encouraged by a client whose custody case I tried this week.  Throughout the process she found trial

Praising the other parent in a custody trial

Posted Saturday, February 11th, 2023 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Child Custody, Litigation Strategy, Miscellaneous, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys

The past few years I begun a practice of having my custody clients develop a few solid minutes of testimony praising the other parent.  Such

What is “standard visitation” in 2023?

Posted Friday, February 3rd, 2023 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific, Visitation

When I first began practicing family law 30 years ago, “standard visitation” was pretty standard.  A fit parent who was not the primary caretaker was

The family court’s failure to protect guardians ad litem does not appear to be improving

Posted Tuesday, January 31st, 2023 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Child Custody, Family Court Procedure, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific

Over a decade ago I stopped doing guardian ad Litem work and blogged about why.  I was tired of ad hominem attacks from unhappy litigants—and

Court of Appeals grants new trial on DSS sexual abuse case based on improperly limited cross-examinations

Posted Tuesday, January 17th, 2023 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Department of Social Services/Child Abuse and Neglect, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Appellate Decisions, South Carolina Specific

The January 4, 2023, Court of Appeals opinion in SCDSS v. Scott, 438 S.C. 400, 883 S.E.2d 229 (Ct. App. 2023), granted a new trial

Supreme Court remands for new custody trial based on stale record

Posted Wednesday, November 23rd, 2022 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Appellate Procedure, Child Custody, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Appellate Decisions, South Carolina Specific

On November 23, 2022, the South Carolina Supreme Court partially granted a writ of certiorari, and remanded the case of Rossington v. Rossington, 438 S.C.

Maybe you’re simply a bad parent

Posted Tuesday, November 22nd, 2022 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Attorney-Client Relations, Child Support, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to General Public

A sizable portion of my initial consults are with parents frustrated in achieving their custody or visitation goals in the family court.  Often these parents

Why I’m sticking with remote mediations

Posted Thursday, November 17th, 2022 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Law Practice Management, Mediation/Alternative Dispute Resolution, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific

Early in the COVID era, the South Carolina Supreme Court authorized mediations using video conferencing. Despite the return of relative normalcy to the operation of

Whose signatures are needed for family court consent orders?

Posted Thursday, November 3rd, 2022 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Family Court Procedure, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific

In the pre-COVID days, one could typically get temporary orders approved with just the attorneys’ signatures and could almost always get procedural orders approved with

Supreme Court declines invitation to define “supported spouse” in South Carolina’s alimony statute

Posted Thursday, October 27th, 2022 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Alimony/Spousal Support, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Appellate Decisions, South Carolina Specific

I won’t blog about my own appeals until remittitur issues as I don’t want to be seen as trying to influence the appellate courts (not

Put Mr. Forman’s experience, knowledge, and dedication to your service for any of your South Carolina family law needs.