What is Alimony For? Alimony is meant to keep the person who receives it in the same position he or she was in during the marriage, as nearly as possible. This means, for example, that if you weren’t taking fabulous vacations during your marriage, you’re not going to get enough spousal support to start [..]
The recent case of Noojin v. Noojin, decided by the South Carolina Court of Appeals in July 2016 provides guidelines for custodial parents whose child is protesting visitation with the non-custodial parent. The mother in Noojin was found to be in contempt of court for failing to facilitate visitation with the children’s father and acquiescing [..]
Generally, there is a presumption in favor of a biological parent having custody of his or her child. The South Carolina Supreme Court has long recognized a biological parent’s superior rights over those of third parties with regard to custody, in the absence of a showing that the biological parent is unfit. Kay v. Rowland, [..]
There are 13 statutory factors the court must consider in awarding alimony. South Carolina Code § 20-3-130 provides: (A) In proceedings for divorce from the bonds of matrimony, and in actions for separate maintenance and support, the court may grant alimony or separate maintenance and support in such amounts and for such term as the [..]
There are many grounds for termination of parental rights in South Carolina. In private termination of parental rights actions, I most commonly have been confronted with a parent’s failure to support or visit his or her child. In South Carolina, a parent’s parental rights can be terminated if a parent willfully fails to support their [..]
Marital property is property that was (1) acquired during the marriage; and (2) owned as of the date of filing or the beginning of marital litigation. S.C. Code Ann. § 20-3-630. Non-marital property is property that is (1) acquired by either party by inheritance or gift from a party other than the spouse; (2) is [..]
In general, spousal support, most commonly known as alimony, is meant to be a substitute for the support a spouse received as part of the marital relationship. Ordinarily, the purpose of alimony is to place the supported spouse in as comparable a position of support as he or she enjoyed during the marriage. Alimony can [..]
When you share a child with someone, but are not living with the other parent of your child, either because you and the other parent are divorced or separated, you will still want to spend time with your child. If you are not the parent with primary custody of your child, meaning that your child [..]
The typical child custody schedule often places primary custody of a child with one parent and gives the other parent custody or visitation every other weekend. While this arrangement works well for many separated families, some parents run into problems with this arrangement because they have jobs that require them to work unconventional hours. When [..]
A history of domestic violence in a family can have a significant impact on a parent’s ability to obtain custody of their child or children. In South Carolina, the family court judges do not look fondly on parents who have a history of violent or abusive behavior towards family members, children or domestic partners. In [..]
