Geography:

The interaction of the De Facto Custodian statute and the Moore factors

Posted Thursday, June 13th, 2019 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Child Custody, Jurisprudence, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific

There are numerous recurring issues in South Carolina family law that ultimately will need to be resolved by our appellate courts. One of the more

Alimony for the less ambitious spouse

Posted Friday, June 7th, 2019 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Alimony/Spousal Support, Jurisprudence, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, Of Interest to General Public

On June 6, 2019, I argued an appeal in the Court of Appeals that involved a novel issue that I expect to become increasingly common.

Unpublished Court of Appeals opinion does the unprecedented

Posted Wednesday, May 15th, 2019 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

For the 25 years I have been practicing family law no published South Carolina appellate opinion has approved an award of rehabilitative alimony. While I

Court of Appeals affirms an unusual and detailed custody arrangement

Posted Friday, May 10th, 2019 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Attorney's Fees, Child Custody, Child Support, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Appellate Decisions, South Carolina Specific

The May 8, 2019 Court of Appeals opinion in Klein v. Barrett, 427 S.C. 74 828 S.E.2d 773 (Ct. App. 2019), finds the Court of

Is South Carolina heading the wrong path potentially expanding fault divorce?

Posted Tuesday, April 9th, 2019 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Divorce and Marriage, Jurisprudence, Legislation, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, Of Interest to General Public, South Carolina Specific

In 1969 California became the first state to allow no-fault divorce. In 2010 New York became the last state to allow it. In the interim,

A published appellate opinion that might finally terminate alimony based upon continued cohabitation–finally

Posted Monday, April 8th, 2019 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

When, in 1990, South Carolina enacted its current alimony statute, S.C. Code § 20-3-130, it provided three grounds to automatically terminate permanent periodic alimony: 1)

Supreme Court holds order establishing common-law marriage is immediately appealable

Posted Thursday, April 4th, 2019 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Appellate Procedure, Divorce and Marriage, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Appellate Decisions, South Carolina Specific

The April 3, 2019 Supreme Court opinion in Stone v. Thompson, 426 S.C. 291, 826 S.E.2d 868 (2019), addresses the appealability of final orders from

Supreme Court acknowledges investment income is a factor in awarding alimony but affirms alimony award in which family court declined to set a specific figure for such income

Posted Wednesday, March 20th, 2019 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

The March 20, 2019, South Carolina Supreme Court opinion in Sweeney v. Sweeney, 420 S.C. 69, 800 S.E.2d 148 (2019), “establishes” something I had assumed

What are the potential remedies for notice-based contempt pleadings?

Posted Thursday, February 14th, 2019 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Contempt/Enforcement of Orders, Family Court Procedure, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific

Late last month the family court issued a contempt petition against a client of mine in which the petition was a “notice” pleading, not a

Court of Appeals reverses family court’s finding of child abandonment

Posted Wednesday, February 13th, 2019 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

On February 13, 2019, the Court of Appeals reversed a family court’s finding that adoptive parents abandoned their teenage child in the case of SCDSS