Prenuptial agreements are an under-utilized tool for reducing the conflict and cost associated with divorce. The reasons that prenups are so rare are easy to discern: they take the “romance” out of divorce, they can be expensive and time-consuming to obtain, they are “only for the rich,” etc. Without dwelling on those issues (all of which can be debunked by experienced Charleston divorce attorneys), let’s examine the things one can do, cannot do, and must do with a prenuptial agreement.
Charleston Family Court Lawyer | Can I Be Reimbursed for my Attorney’s Fees?
Let’s be frank: most people’s idea of a good time is not spending thousands of dollars on a Charleston Family Court lawyer. Most people, when spending thousands of dollars on anything, want it to be on something tangible, or something fun, like a new car, a vacation, a child’s college tuition. Spending money on a Charleston Family Court lawyer can be made even less pleasant when you’re being led down the path of divorce by what you perceive to be your spouse’s unilateral wrongdoing, and can be complicated by the drastic financial impact already being wrought [Read more…]
Charleston Family Court Attorney | The Perils of Self-Representation
As a Charleston Family Court attorney, I’ve encountered many potential clients who are either attempting to represent themselves in Family Court or have already finished represented themselves in a Family Court case. Each of these types encounter problems with the self-representation process that either require the immediate attention of an experienced lawyer or may have been screwed up past the point where even the best Charleston divorce lawyer can help.
As a matter of full disclosure, the South Carolina [Read more…]
Divorce Attorneys in Charleston | Everybody Needs a Good Lawyer
Everybody needs a good mechanic, a good plumber, and a great lawyer on speed dial at all times.
You never want to get caught broken down on the side of the road, with a toilet flooding your bathroom, or embroiled in a legal controversy without having somebody you know, trust, and that you can reach in a moment’s notice.
Even if the trouble with your car is the transmission, and your mechanic can’t such a specialized problem, wouldn’t you trust your guy to point you in the direction of a trustworthy transmission guy? Maybe you’re getting a pool installed, and your plumber ca [Read more…]
Charleston Divorce Lawyer | Selling Your House During Divorce
I recently made a social media connection with a gentleman by the name of Bill Gassett, a real estate agent in Massachusetts who has done some wonderful blog work on issues pertaining to divorce and real estate. One article he wrote struck me as something that could be particularly helpful to my clients and potential clients, on the issue of selling your house [Read more…]
Divorce Lawyer in Charleston | Picking Your Battles Wisely
“If you treat every situation as a life or death matter, you’ll die a lot of times.”
As a divorce lawyer in Charleston, one of my primary responsibilities toward my clients is to help them decide what battles to fight and what issues to let go. Every case is different, so every client’s priorities will be different, but there are some guiding principles that can apply to everybody equally.
Your children are worth fighting for.
As long as you have your children’s best interests at heart, there are few child-related issues that are not worth battling over. [Read more…]
Charleston Divorce Attorney | Changing a Child’s Name
Changing a child’s name can be a tricky proposition, particularly following a divorce or under circumstances where unmarried parents have a falling out. It’s certainly one thing for parents to part ways, and another to hotly contest custody, but attempting to change a child’s surname will almost always be viewed as an attempt to permanently break a familial bond, and is sure to be angrily contested in most cases. A qualified and experienced Charleston divorce attorney can assist in guiding you through this potential minefield.
As with most issues pertaining to children in [Read more…]
West Ashley Divorce Lawyers | Eight Things You Should Know About Appearing or Testifying in Court
As West Ashley divorce lawyers, we are frequently asked by nervous clients how they should look and act when giving testimony on the stand. Our advice in this regard usually varies from client to client, but I recently came upon a pamphlet produced by the Ninth Circuit Solicitor’s Office that I believe succinctly and accurately provides advice on court appearances that would apply to anybody (full credit for the following belongs to the [Read more…]
Charleston Family Court Lawyers | Grandparent Visitation in South Carolina
The dissolution of a marriage or a parental relationship can traumatize more than just the parents and the children; grandparents stand to suffer a substantial loss of quality time with their grandchildren that they may have once enjoyed. Charleston Family Court lawyers are frequently faced with distraught grandparents looking to recover the close relationship they had and lost with their their grandchildren. The law in South Carolina is very specific on the topic, and quite frequently not what the grandparents want to hear.
Under normal circumstances, our courts will no [Read more…]
Divorce Lawyers in Charleston |Text Messages in Family Court
Making changes to procedural rules can sometimes create unpredicted after-affects, which can take some time to become apparent.
The South Carolina Supreme Court changed the rules regarding temporary hearings just over a year ago, the most important change being that they set a limit of eight pages of affidavits that each litigant may submit (excepting fee affidavits and Financial Declarations and the like). This limitation notably excludes from the page count “attachments or exhibits [Read more…]