The September 5, 2018 Court of Appeals opinion in Grantham v. Weatherford, 425 S.C. 111 (S.C. App. 2018), addresses the application of South Carolina’s Grandparent Visitation Statute, S.C. Code § 63-3-530(A)(33). However, while granting maternal grandparents (Grandparents) visitation with their grandchildren, it does so under the 2010 amendment to that subsection, which has since been […]
Archive for the ‘Visitation’ Category
Can non-custodial parents delegate their parenting time to third-parties?
An issue that commonly arises in interpreting custody orders is whether the non-custodial parent is allowed to delegate his or her (in this culture, mostly his) visitation to third-parties during his custodial periods when the custody order is otherwise silent on the issue. South Carolina case law remains silent on this dispute. However, while acknowledging […]
Help T. Ryan Phillips get Baker v. Hardwick published
I would love to see the May 24, 2017 Court of Appeals opinion in Baker v. Hardwick get published. Not just because T. Ryan Phillips and I share office space; not just because I referred him the appeal that he turned into a victory reversal. Baker establishes an important legal principle: the outer limits of […]
The danger of rushing into custody agreements with the seriously mentally ill or substance abusing
Folks hire family law attorneys not only expecting to have their domestic disputes resolved, but expecting them to be resolved quickly and inexpensively. The method to accomplish this is to reach agreements. Thus most litigants want their attorneys to be thinking settlement early in the process. For most domestic disputes this is a reasonable expectation. […]
Court of Appeals affirms contempt finding against mother who didn’t force children to visit
Calling bullsh*t on custodial parents who let the children decide their visitation is one of my most controversial and by far my most commented-upon blog. In that blog I argue that it is the custodial parent’s job to require the children spend their court-ordered visitation time with the non-custodial parent (assuming that parent wants to […]
Small bites on visitation
Absent a showing of a “substantial change of circumstances” one is allowed to bring only one motion for temporary relief on a particular issue prior to trial. Typically these motions are brought early in the case–some attorneys almost reflexively file these motions with their initial pleading. However whatever relief the client obtains at the temporary […]
United States Supreme Court finds order granting adopting lesbian mother visitation is entitled to full faith and credit
On March 7, 2016, in the case of V. L. v. E. L., ET AL., the United States Supreme Court, in an unsigned Per Curiam opinion, ordered the Alabama Supreme Court to give full faith and credit to a Georgia adoption decree that allowed a lesbian mother to adopt her then-partner’s three biological children. The […]
The risks of rushing into a final order on custody or visitation
Most people, at least those who are thoughtful and mature, try to avoid protracted and contentious litigation. This is especially true for custody and visitation cases. The stress and expense of litigation is heightened when the fight is over one’s children–and placating and paying a guardian ad litem only adds to this stress and expense. […]