South Carolina Lawyers Weekly

The matter of physical and legal custody of the parties’ minor child has been in contention for almost six years—since the child was two months old. We regret the delay caused in part by our state’s court system and acknowledge ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations

When the parties entered into an October 2018 consent order to retroactively terminate the plaintiff-Father’s alimony obligation as of July 2018, there was another action pending requiring Father to show cause why he should not be held in contempt for ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations

Before they married, decedent and the appellee-husband signed an antenuptial agreement which designated as decedent’s separate property a life insurance policy that named appellants – decedent’s children from a previous marriage – as beneficiaries. When decedent subsequently designated her new ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations

Our alimony statute, S.C. Code Ann. § 20-3-130(C), repeatedly uses but does not define the term “supported spouse.” We agree with the defendant-Husband that this is merely a descriptive term delineating the person actually receiving alimony. We decline the plaintiff-Wife’s ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations

It appears that plaintiff called himself married when it was convenient and financially beneficial for him but considered himself single when marriage was inconvenient or financially detrimental. Moreover, the evidence shows defendant did not consider herself married to plaintiff. The ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations

Although the family court accepted the respondent-Mother’s testimony that she had paid the appellant-Father child support in cash, the record shows that Mother’s testimony was not credible.  We reverse the family court’s finding that Mother made cash payments to Father ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations

Plaintiff’s decedent (Wife) had already filed suit against the defendant-Husband in the family court for equitable apportionment when she died. As a result, Wife’s property rights in the couple’s marital property had vested, and the family court correctly continued to ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations

Although the plaintiff-Wife has more education and steadier employment than the defendant-Husband, since (1) Husband’s adultery was the impetus behind this litigation, (2) Wife has significant student loans to repay, and (3) Wife’s support during the marriage allowed Husband to ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations

The defendant-Mother testified that both she and the parties’ children need a consistent schedule for stability and planning purposes. Given the plaintiff-Father’s inconsistent exercise of his midweek parenting time and his failure to provide sufficient notice of such to Mother, ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations

An adult daughter, who was her elderly father’s guardian and conservator, could file suit against her mother for the father’s separate maintenance and support.  We affirm the family court’s denial of the defendant-Wife’s motion to dismiss.  Facts  After a long ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations