Discovery for defending domestic violence allegations in family court cases
Posted Thursday, March 19th, 2015 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys
Allegations of domestic violence in family court cases are often akin to shock grenades: intend to knock the other party back and on the defensive.
Posted Monday, March 16th, 2015 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Family Court Procedure, Litigation Strategy, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, Paternity, South Carolina Specific
One area where law and culture are not congruent is the issue of paternity for children born out of wedlock. In many cases the parents
The dangers of dating before divorce (or before a final order of separate maintenance)
Posted Thursday, February 12th, 2015 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Alimony/Spousal Support, Child Custody, Divorce and Marriage, Equitable Distribution/Property Division, Law and Culture, Litigation Strategy, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific
People coming out of an unhappy marriage are often eager to begin dating. Yet there are risks in dating before one is divorced. My preference
Odd skirmishes in the battle over credibility
Posted Sunday, February 1st, 2015 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Geography:, Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys
I recently completed a lengthy custody and divorce trial in which the judge asked both attorneys to draft proposed orders. This required us to consider
It can be counterproductive to fight grounds in termination of parental rights cases
Posted Wednesday, January 28th, 2015 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Adoption/Termination of Parental Rights, Litigation Strategy, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific
A party bringing a termination of parental rights (TPR) case must prove, by clear and convincing evidence, both a statutory ground under S.C. Code §
Should one execute a formal agreement at the conclusion of mediation?
Posted Monday, January 26th, 2015 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Litigation Strategy, Mediation/Alternative Dispute Resolution, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys
A frequent debate among my family law colleagues is whether one should have one’s client execute a formal agreement before concluding mediation if one has
Negotiating with a gun to one’s head
Posted Friday, January 23rd, 2015 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys
The family court won’t approve agreements that are obtained through coercion. However, “coercion” in this legal sense is quite different, and much more limited, than
Getting the child’s items returned at the end of visitation
Posted Wednesday, January 21st, 2015 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Contempt/Enforcement of Orders, Litigation Strategy, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific
Recently I prosecuted a rule to show cause in which one of my client’s goal was to get her child’s items returned. The father’s visitation
File an answer at or before the temporary hearing
Posted Tuesday, January 20th, 2015 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Litigation Strategy, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific
One of the odd procedural quirks of South Carolina family law is that one can have a hearing seeking temporary substantive relief as part of
Litigating child custody does not, by itself, create personal jurisdiction for child support
Posted Sunday, November 23rd, 2014 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Child Custody, Jurisdiction, Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys
Due to an increasingly mobile society, child custody litigation often moves to different states over a child’s minority. When both parents and the child no
