If you’d like to handle your own divorce or have child support set or modified, the South Carolina judicial department has forms available to help. Filing for your divorce The judicial department has provided forms and instructions for self-represented litigants in South Carolina. The judicial website is www.sccourts.org. From the judicial department home page, under [..]
While South Carolina has not specifically ruled on the question of whether student loans incurred by a spouse during the marriage are marital or non-marital, our general provisions regarding the allocation of debt during equitable distribution can and should apply. As restated by our Court of Appeals in Barrow v. Barrow, 394 S.C. 603, 716 [..]
First, know that the best thing you can do for your child is to get him or her a good attorney. The Public Defenders’ Offices in South Carolina are a good place to start, if you cannot afford an attorney for your child. If you do not qualify financially for an appointed attorney, you will [..]
It is important if you are considering a settlement agreement that includes a provision for lump sum alimony that you are aware of the non-modifiable nature of lump sum alimony. In fact, the family court will not have the jurisdiction to modify even the payment structure of lump sum alimony, even if there is a [..]
Often, in our increasingly mobile society, people want to relocate after a divorce. The issue becomes more complicated where children are involved. South Carolina Code § 63-3-530(3) provides that a family court may not issue an order that prohibits a custodial parent from moving his residence to a location within the State unless the court [..]
In South Carolina, parents that share a child but live apart, either due to separation or divorce, have to divide the custody of the child between them, making one parent the custodial parent and the other parent the noncustodial parent. These designations do not necessarily indicate how much time the child spends with each parent; [..]
According to the latest data provided by the Violence Policy Center, there were 57 female deaths attributable to domestic violence situations in 2013, making South Carolina the leader in the country for the highest rate of women being killed by men (at a rate of 2.32 per 100,000) due to the high number of instances [..]
Being a new father can be a wonderful thing, especially if you are interested in taking a significant role in your child’s life. However, things can get complicated if you and the mother are not married, and she does not claim you as the father of her child on the child’s birth certificate. Below are [..]
The State reports that Governor Nikki Haley recently launched the Governor’s Domestic Violence Task Force in response to the enactment of the Domestic Violence Reform Act that went into effect in June of this year. The law placed stricter penalties on those who inflict domestic violence upon others. The purpose of the task force was [..]
Working together to arrive at a divorce settlement is the best way to ensure that each spouse gets what he or she wants out of a divorce. However, if the couple is unable to amicably and agreeably divide up their own marital assets, property and debts together using a written divorce settlement, then the court [..]
