Sealing records when private custody cases reference past child protective services involvement
Posted Thursday, May 24th, 2018 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Family Court Procedure, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific
While the general principal is that court records are open to the public, information from child protective services cases are not. Thus conflicts develop between
Court of Appeals applies Moore factors and returns child to mother
Posted Wednesday, May 23rd, 2018 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Child Custody, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Appellate Decisions, South Carolina Specific
The May 23, 2018 Court of Appeals opinion in Urban v. Kerscher, 423 S.C. 615, 817 S.E.2d 130 (Ct. App. 2018), reverses a Family Court’s continuation of
Vacating court approved agreements
Posted Saturday, May 12th, 2018 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Litigation Strategy, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, South Carolina Specific
Most family law attorneys will occasionally get contacted by an unhappy litigant who wishes to “appeal” his or her court approved agreement. The simple answer
Posted Wednesday, May 9th, 2018 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Adoption/Termination of Parental Rights, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Appellate Decisions, South Carolina Specific
The May 9, 2018 Supreme Court opinion in SCDSS v. Smith, 423 S.C. 60, 814 S.E.2d 148 (2018), reverses a 2017 Court of Appeals opinion, terminates father’s
Unpublished Conits opinion reveals the dangers of lackadaisical litigating
Posted Monday, May 7th, 2018 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Equitable Distribution/Property Division, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Appellate Decisions, South Carolina Specific
After three published opinions in Conits v. Conits, one a refiled Supreme Court opinion, on May 2, 2018 the Court of Appeals issued an unpublished
Posted Wednesday, May 2nd, 2018 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Child Custody, Equitable Distribution/Property Division, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Appellate Decisions, South Carolina Specific
The May 2, 2018 Court of Appeals opinion of Clark v. Clark, 423 S.C. 596, 815 S.E.2d 772 (Ct. App. 2018), is one of the rare
Three methods of reducing the impact of an unfavorable guardian ad litem report
Posted Friday, April 20th, 2018 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Child Custody, Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys
The typical response of an unhappy litigant to an unfavorable guardian ad litem report is to accuse the guardian of bias. While in rare instances
Supreme Court authorizes collateral attack on adoption due to significant procedural irregularities
Posted Wednesday, March 21st, 2018 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Adoption/Termination of Parental Rights, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Appellate Decisions, South Carolina Specific
N.B. the opinion discussed below was subsequently slightly modified. See Supreme Court issues slightly modified opinion in Ex-Parte: Carter. The phrase Kafkaesque is an overused cliche
The only two goals of responding to discovery
Posted Saturday, March 10th, 2018 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys
There are common bad practices of responding to discovery. One often sees responses that are incomplete and only partially respond to the request. The rules
Should side jobs lead to increased support obligations?
Posted Tuesday, February 20th, 2018 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Child Support, Jurisprudence, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific
One of the many fundamental unfairnesses in South Carolina’s child support system is that a payor’s increased income almost universally leads to an increase in
