It can be scary to be served a complaint yet alone this motion. You may see this in divorce, custody, or support matters You’re looking at this document where the other party is requesting just about everything including attorney’s fees. But think of this hearing as a way for the judge to set the status quo, on a temporary basis. These hearings require certain documents and most times oral arguments. There are certain rules when it comes to service of this motion. There are rules regarding time limits and page requirements. These hearings can often set the tone for your case and having counsel can be an advantage

Order of Protection hearings can sometimes coincide with a domestic violence charge in criminal court. There are distinctions between the two courts that you need to know about. Some parties may utilize this as an attempt to circumvent the family court. There is a standard that has to be proven to a judge in order to successfully obtain an order of protection. Litigants without attorneys can often go the court house and fill out a packet to schedule these hearings. These are evidentiary which means evidence and testimony of witnesses/parties will be taken and considered. It is wise to have an attorney at these hearings.

Custody actions can involve requests for child support OR the enforcement rights for child support can be assigned to DSS. Some of the major elements you want to think about with custody and child support is time and decision making. Child support is based on codified guidelines which may include parties’ incomes, overnights with a child, health insurance, daycare, just to name a few. Many parties get confused with the terms joint custody and sole custody, where one may sound better than the other, but you need to understand the distinction and what you should or should not ask for. It’s advantageous to consult with an attorney to evaluate this

So you get served with a rule to show cause. This is a contempt action filed pursuant to a binding court order. Sometimes, you will see these filed under older case numbers depending on the age of the Order. Unlike motions for temporary relief, these hearings are evidentiary and live testimony taken under oath is necessary. The person alleging a violation must show that a party acted knowingly and willfully to violate a court order. These hearings are very serious as willful contempt can subject the violating party to fines, jail time, community service, reimbursement of attorney’s fees and costs, or any combination thereof. There are requirements to ensure that the rule to show cause is properly served and you should know about them. Whether you are prosecuting or defending a rule to show cause it is advantageous to have an attorney to assist, especially with cross or direct examination.

So you’re already a party to a case and you get served with discovery requests. You might be thinking, how are any of these requests relevant to the case. Discovery is a Broad category of information gathering sought during a filed action. Some requests you might see are called Requests for Production, Interrogatories, and Requests to Admit. You can think of this phase where both sides typically send comprehensive requests to each other, to produce everything and the kitchen sink, so to speak. Sometimes these can be informal, where a party requests financial information like pay stubs or retirement documents, or they can be more formal where you will see a combination of standard and customized discovery requests sent to parties. For example, In a case where parental fitness is at issue, a parent’s social media presence or posts could be used as evidence. It is necessary to consult with an attorney to navigate the relevance and timely production of discovery requests.

So, you get served with a subpoena. Sometimes these subpoenas are to demand the production of documents or to demand the attendance of a court hearing. There must be an active case pending for a subpoena to be issued. Subpoenas do operate with the same power of a court order and attorneys do have the authority to issues these. In most instances, subpoenas are for non-parties. For example, in a case involving support, you may typically see these sent directly to banks to produce statements or check stubs. It is expected that a private company or institution within the jurisdiction will comply with a lawful subpoena. You’ll find that having an attorney who has subpoena power can be an invaluable asset to your case.

Sometimes we as attorneys take our client's naivity for granted, to non-lawyers, sometimes just going to the courthouse is something that they have only ever seen dramatized on television. Sometimes, just walking to the courthouse is scary for clients. Especially, in domestic litigation, where you may find yourself going to court more times than not. It's always my goal, to prepare my clients for just something as simple as walking into the courthouse. So, let's go check out the Charleston County Judicial Complex. Now we can't film there, but what I want to do is provide helpful hints, when you make your way out here. So this complex, is actually behind one-hundred Broad Street. If you google one-hundred Broad Street, the physical address will take you to the old courthouse on the corner of meeting and broad, but this houses the actual family court. So, once you walk in these doors, you have to get through security, phones are allowed, but no food or weapons are allowed. Then you're going to go up to the second floor and once you reach the top of the second floor, you will see a hallway that is normally bustling with family court litigants, attorneys, and docketing managers that are herding attorneys and clients for the schedule. So, if you're not lucky with finding street parking within the four corners of law. The entrance to the parking garage on the meeting street side is hidden between the Hibernian Hall and tax auditor's office. So, be on the lookout for that. Another entrance is on the queen street side where you'll see the sign that says Charleston City Parking Garage. Both of these entrances are to the same garage and they both link to complex for Charleston County.

If you're not lucky with street parking, when you're headed to my office located at 215 East Bay Street in the Maritime Building and you are headed towards the battery, you will see the big white Customs House on your left. And directly across from that is the Maritime Building. One more block up at the intersection of East Bay and Cumberland street, you can take a left and one more block that way you will see the Concord Cumberland Street garage. If you take a right at that intersection, then you go one more block up. You will see a pay to park lot, located at the corner of State Street and Cumberland Street.

So, you’ve been given a safety plan from the Department of Social Services. I can’t tell you how many times I get inquiries about DSS safety plans. When DSS gets involved, it typically means that the safety of a child has been questioned, and allegations of abuse or neglect are being investigated. Clients often report feeling like DSS has completely infringed on their rights as parents. However, DSS is a state agency with the focus of reunifying families, and they must investigate all allegations regardless of merit. DSS must operate pursuant to statute which starts with a forty-five-day preliminary investigation. When a safety plan is issued, it is not a court order, however the Department may be forced to file a formal action if a party chooses not to comply with a safety plan. As a state funded agency, there are a myriad of services that the Department can offer to help families in difficult situations, whether housing, employment, drug, alcohol, or violence related issues. For families that are indigent, there are opportunities for a parent to be appointed an attorney through Rule 608. However, if you do not qualify for indigent services, then you will need to hire a private attorney to represent you in a DSS action. It can often feel like DSS operates with a lot of autonomy. Litigating with DSS is a whole different beast compared to private divorce or custody actions, and you need an attorney that is skilled in navigating the intricacies of litigation with the Department of social services.

So, you are contemplating divorce, and you are trying to understand how to divide your property. South Carolina is not a community property state. Community property means that everything acquired during the marriage is presumed jointly titled whether asset or debt. Instead, South Carolina operates on an equitable division approach, where the Court can evaluate up to 15 factors by statute for apportionment. This equitable division could allow a party to receive more than fifty percent of a marital estate based on analysis of the 15 factors. For example, marital misconduct is something that a Court may factor into equitable distribution. If a spouse engages in an extra marital affair and the spouse dwindles the marital estate to further the affair, then it is possible that a court will take that into consideration for dividing the marital estate. Equitable distribution can only be completed when either the parties’ consent on the division of assets or, if a court orders equitable division through a final trial on the merits, which is typically at the end of a case. Generally, at the onset of a case it is difficult to divide a marital estate without the parties first engaging in formal discovery. The general rule of thumb, is that Property acquired during the marriage is marital property subject to equitable apportionment. The date of filing for an action is the cut-off point for the marital estate. Dividing marital estates, especially significant marital estates can be a daunting task, and you need the benefit of counsel who can guide you through the process.