South Carolina Lawyers Weekly

Jan 13, 2022

Unusual birth certificate no obstacle to adoption

The grandparents of an Abbeville County girl have been granted adoption after the South Carolina Supreme Court reversed a Court of Appeals decision and found that declining to grant a […]

Feb 18, 2019

Lawsuit claims discrimination by foster agency

A Catholic mother accuses a federally funded South Carolina foster agency of not working with her because she’s “not the right kind of Christian,” her lawyers say. In a federal […]

Jan 25, 2019

South Carolina group can deny gay couples as foster parents

The federal government agreed Wednesday to allow federally funded foster care agencies in South Carolina to deny services to same-sex or non-Christian couples. The waiver issued by the U.S. Department […]

May 10, 2018

Domestic Relations – Adoption – Foster Parents – TPR – Incarcerated Father

Where the foster parents are the only parent figures the five-year-old child has ever known, and where the incarcerated father did not make much of an effort to contact the […]

Apr 10, 2018

At last, a challenge to consent to adoption

At long last, Nila Carter is going to have her day in court. Unanimously finding that Carter, a mother seeking to revoke her consent to the adoption of her two […]

Mar 22, 2018

Domestic Relations – Adoption – Civil Practice – Rule 60 Motion – Extrinsic Fraud – Timely Filed

After successfully arguing to the family court that the petitioner-biological mother’s attempt to rescind her consent to adoption had to be filed as a separate action, counsel for the adoptive […]

Feb 2, 2018

Domestic Relations – Adoption – Termination of Parental Rights – Consent

Coyle v. Garcia (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-015-18, 5 pp.) (Per Curiam) Appealed from Cherokee County Family Court (Kelly Pope-Black, J.) S.C. App. Unpub. Holding: Where (1) the appellant-father’s minor daughter […]

Jan 4, 2018

Domestic Relations – Adoption – Civil Practice – Standing – Foster Parents

South Carolina Department of Social Services v. Boulware (Lawyers Weekly No. 010-006-18, 12 pp.) (George James Jr., J.) (Kaye Hearn, J., joined by John Kittredge, J., concurring) Appealed from Union […]

Jan 20, 2017

Domestic Relations – Adoption – Non-Parties’ Collateral Attack – Extrinsic Fraud – Insufficient Allegations

Ex parte Carter (Roe v. L.C.) (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-012-17, 3 pp.) (Per Curiam) Appealed from Charleston County Family Court (Edgar Long Jr., J.) S.C. App. Unpub. Holding: As non-parties […]

May 25, 2016

Domestic Relations – Foster Parents – Standing to File Adoption Action

S.C.D.S.S. v. Boulware (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-042-16, 9 pp.) (Per Curiam) Appealed from Union County Family Court (Coreen B. Khoury, J.) S.C. App. Holding: Even though petitioner foster parents were […]

Feb 17, 2016

Immigration – BIA Must Reconsider Adoption Order

Ojo v. Lynch (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-032-16, 18 pp.) (King, J.) No. 15-1138, Feb. 16, 2016; On Petition for Review; 4th Cir. Holding: The 4th Circuit rejects the Board of […]

Dec 9, 2014

Domestic Relations — Parent & Child – Adoption – Termination of Parental Rights – Consent Form

Branton v. Corbitt (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-129-14, 3 pp.) (Per Curiam) Appealed from Aiken County Family Court (Robert Guess, J.) S.C. App. Unpub. Holding: Although the plaintiff-mother’s termination of parental […]