How pro se litigants can best prepare for family law mediations
Posted Saturday, April 20th, 2019 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Mediation/Alternative Dispute Resolution, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, South Carolina Specific
Most pro se family court litigants are pro se either because they cannot afford attorneys or do not want the contentious litigation that they assume
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,
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
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
What are you communicating with your proposed parenting plan?
Posted Thursday, January 31st, 2019 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Child Custody, Litigation Strategy, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific
In 2012, South Carolina revised its child custody statutes and added a provision requiring proposed parenting plans at temporary hearings. This parenting plan asks each
Whose “morality” dictates what is in the best interests of the child?
Posted Friday, January 25th, 2019 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Child Custody, Jurisprudence, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, Of Interest to General Public, South Carolina Specific
South Carolina case law from as recently as May 2018 holds that the morality of a parent is a proper factor for consideration in custody
The most obvious malpractice there is in South Carolina family law
Posted Thursday, January 17th, 2019 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Litigation Strategy, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific
About five years ago–after being burned for the umpteenth time by entering a temporary consent order binding my client to a temporary support without first
