Was there wisdom in the “tender years” doctrine

Posted Monday, August 14th, 2017 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Child Custody, Jurisdiction, Law and Culture, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to General Public

There is no doubt that the “tender years” doctrine–which favored granting mothers custody of young children–would not pass constitutional muster in the 21st century. Such

Getting bossy with custody clients

Posted Saturday, July 1st, 2017 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Attorney-Client Relations, Child Custody, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys

I have a saying that custody cases are the rare litigation in which it is acceptable for an attorney to change the facts.  While the

The best time to defeat a relocation case is before it’s filed

Posted Saturday, April 8th, 2017 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Attorney-Client Relations, Child Custody, Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys

In my 20+ years of family law practice, I’ve yet to see a relocation case in which the requested relocation was solely for the child’s

The price of relocation

Posted Friday, April 7th, 2017 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Attorney-Client Relations, Child Custody, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys

When custodial parents relocate, the non-custodial parent almost always suffers. Typically they lose the frequent contact with the minor child that helps sustain most parent-child

Does the De Facto Custodian statue limit or implicitly overrule Moore v. Moore?

Posted Friday, February 3rd, 2017 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Child Custody, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific

Comments from attorneys and litigants who’ve made this argument are most welcome Moore v. Moore, 300 S.C. 75, 386 S.E.2d 456, 458 (1989) is the

The codification of child custody factors is making encouragement of the other parent’s relationship with the child much more important

Posted Friday, January 20th, 2017 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Child Custody, Litigation Strategy, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific

When South Carolina codified child custody factors in June 2012 as S.C. Code § 63-15-220, I noted,“I do not see any reason why this statute

Little reason to attack the guardian at trial

Posted Sunday, January 15th, 2017 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Child Custody, Guardians Ad Litem, Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys

Working on materials for an upcoming lecture on attorney/guardian interactions, I realized that it had been years since I last felt compelled to “attack” the

Is the lack of a set notice requirement in the UCCJEA a feature or a bug?

Posted Tuesday, December 13th, 2016 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Child Custody, Family Court Procedure, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys

In 2008 South Carolina went from the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (UCCJA) to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA). The updated

(Unwittingly) Coaching the children

Posted Friday, November 25th, 2016 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Attorney-Client Relations, Child Custody, Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys

To most people “coaching” children in the context of custody and visitation cases is telling a child to lie to the judge (or the guardian,

Should custody be dealt with in a separate order?

Posted Thursday, October 27th, 2016 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

I recently completed a divorce case in which all issues other than child custody settled in the middle of trial. With the court’s permission, I

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