Only nine published family law opinions in 2023 (and none from the Supreme Court)
Posted Tuesday, January 16th, 2024 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Appellate Decisions, South Carolina Specific
Every year I do a table of published family law opinions from the prior year. 2023 was a slow year, but not the slowest year
Allegations and records determine outcomes
Posted Sunday, November 12th, 2023 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys
I suspect the concurrence new Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson authored in the case of Twitter, Inc. v. Taamneh, 143 S. Ct. 1206 (2023)
The danger of sandbagging witness lists and trial exhibits in discovery responses
Posted Saturday, November 11th, 2023 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys
The four standard interrogatories that are relevant to family court are basically questions about witnesses, expert witnesses, and trial exhibits. Any initial request for production
Using the opposing party’s deposition in court
Posted Friday, November 10th, 2023 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 a number of reasons to take an opposing party’s deposition prior to trial. Such depositions can limit what the other party can credibly
The hierarchy of witnesses for custody trials
Posted Thursday, October 26th, 2023 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
Attempting to give guidance to various clients indicated a need for me to explain the hierarchy of witnesses for custody trials. As I have noted
Visitation cases mandate a narrower focus than custody cases
Posted Friday, October 6th, 2023 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, Visitation
Not all litigation over time with a child is actually a battle over physical custody of that child. A subset of “custody” litigation involves only
Deposition goals differ from trial testimony goals
Posted Wednesday, September 27th, 2023 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys
Because deposition goals differ from trial testimony goals, deposition preparation should look different than trial testimony preparation.[i] Whereas trial testimony is intended to elicit predetermined
Court of Appeals essentially affirms family court on child support and attorney’s fees
Posted Tuesday, September 19th, 2023 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Attorney's Fees, Child Custody, Contempt/Enforcement of Orders, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Appellate Decisions, South Carolina Specific
I’ve delayed blogging on the August 30, 2023, Court of Appeals opinion in Brantley v. Brantley 441 S.C. 284, 893 S.E.2d 349 (Ct.App. 2023), until
Once a client accuses an attorney of lacking integrity, continued representation is problematic
Posted Thursday, September 14th, 2023 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Attorney-Client Relations, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys
Every attorney encounters an occasional client who will claim that attorney is acting unethically. Often the claim is lacking loyalty to the client’s cause. Sometimes
Posted Thursday, August 24th, 2023 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Contempt/Enforcement of Orders, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Appellate Decisions, South Carolina Specific
In the August 23, 2023 opinion in Moore v. Smith, 441 S.C. 261, 892 S.E.2d 552 (Ct.App. 2023), the Court of Appeals reversed the family
