Regaining Custody After Voluntary Relinquishment
Third parties are not on equal footing with parents in family court custody disputes ...
Religion and divorce
Many couples who marry are of the same or similar religious faith. When parents divorce the religious upbringing of the children is rarely an issue. On occasion, however, disagreement arises. In those cases, who gets to make the decision? The United States was founded upon a rule of law that require...
Tai Chi and the art of family law
Many people, including many of my colleagues in the Bar, feel that “might makes right” and that brute force is necessary to prevail in a contested family law case. As many of my friends know I have been a Tai Chi practitioner since the middle 1970’s. We learn when we practice Tai C...
Is Ketamine a cure for depression?
Many years ago surgical patients who also suffered from chronic depression were reporting a mysterious lifting of their symptoms after surgery. These patients had been given an anesthesia called ketamine during their surgery. As a result, researchers have been studying the use of ketamine to help pe...
Can alimony be terminated when a supported spouse lives with a romantic companion?
It is settled law that alimony will terminate upon the remarriage of the recipient. Several years ago our legislature added a new rule permitting the termination of alimony should the recipient cohabit with a romantic companion for a period of 90 or more consecutive days. But what if a two people ...
Is sexting grounds for adultery?
“Sexting” and other forms of electronically recorded erotic behavior sometimes is alleged by a person against his or her spouse in a divorce case as evidence of adultery. This kind of evidence, as hurtful and offensive as it is, may not rise to the level required to prove adultery. Proof...
What constitutes “income” when determining an appropriate award of alimony?
Alimony is not an exact science in South Carolina. 13 separate factors must be separately analyzed and each one specifically addressed when making an alimony order. It is usually a simple matter to accurately determine income by examining tax returns, W-2’s, 1099’s, etc. But when i...
Guardians and the child’s therapist.
In virtually all contested family court cases involving children, a Guardian ad Litem is appointed. Should the child be in therapy it is a near certainty that the Guardian will want to speak with their therapist. The responsibilities of a private Guardian ad Litem in a custody matter are foun...