Impeaching a guardian ad litem who’s gone (too) rogue
Posted Saturday, October 6th, 2012 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
Twenty years experience shows that there’s some validity to Robert Rosen’s jaundiced view of guardians ad litem in private custody cases, best expressed by the
Deposing alleged paramours before filing to terminate alimony
Posted Friday, September 28th, 2012 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Alimony/Spousal Support, Divorce and Marriage, Litigation Strategy, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific
In South Carolina even adultery that occurs during the marital dissolution litigation period is sufficient to terminate alimony. Further adultery can be “proven” through circumstantial
Substance abuse testing before temporary hearings
Posted Tuesday, September 25th, 2012 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
In the South Carolina family courts it is almost a reflexive practice for attorneys to file a motion for temporary relief, seeking all the relief
Posted Tuesday, September 25th, 2012 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Alimony/Spousal Support, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific
In South Carolina only adultery acts as an absolute bar to alimony. S.C. Code § 20-3-130(A). Yet, since the implementation of South Carolina’s alimony statute
Court of Appeals makes minor changes to year-old opinion
Posted Wednesday, September 12th, 2012 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Child Custody, Department of Social Services/Child Abuse and Neglect, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Appellate Decisions, South Carolina Specific
Today’s [September 12, 2012] advance sheet notes a refiled opinion in the case of South Carolina Department of Social Services v. Mary C. Oddly enough
Shared custody parents should date locally
Posted Saturday, September 8th, 2012 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
One of the more heart wrenching consults I commonly encounter is when a primary caretaker mother who agreed to shared physical custody has fallen in
Can a deserting (without good cause) spouse get alimony?
Posted Friday, September 7th, 2012 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Alimony/Spousal Support, Legislation, Litigation Strategy, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific
How many family law attorneys are aware of S.C. Code § 63-5-20? In my experience not many. With the proper fact pattern that statute might
Posted Tuesday, August 28th, 2012 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Equitable Distribution/Property Division, Legislation, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific
South Carolina Code § 20-3-610 indicates that the marital estate is created “at the time marital litigation is filed or commenced...” Yet S.C. Code §
Dumpster diving the family court files
Posted Sunday, August 26th, 2012 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys
When I first started practicing family law an early mentor, William J. Hamilton, III, told me that, “the evidence for a thousand divorces lies in
Equalizing incomes doesn’t always equalize lifestyles
Posted Saturday, August 25th, 2012 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Alimony/Spousal Support, Litigation Strategy, Not South Carolina Specific, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys
In setting alimony for really long marriages (30+ years) the family courts sometime try to equalize incomes. In cases in which both parties are retired
