Agreements Archives | Charleston SC Divorce Lawyers

Divorce Lawyers Charleston SC | Don’t Represent Yourself in Family Court

January 4, 2019 By Patricia O. DeTreville Leave a Comment

In my opinion, Family Law represents the best efforts of the legislature and the courts to do the right thing for people who may have temporarily lost their ability to find their way without substantial help. In other words, Family Law is an outline of what needs to be done, and how to do it, for people who may not be thinking clearly in the stress of separation and divorce. Legislatures make the laws, and judges interpret and enforce them.

This does not mean that every piece of Family Law, or every statute, necessarily applies to you or to your family’s situation. It is the job of divorce [Read more…]

Divorce Attorney Charleston SC | Divorce and the New Tax Law, Part 1

January 19, 2018 By J. Michael DeTreville Leave a Comment

The new tax plans have been a source of real uncertainty for any divorce attorney Charleston SC for several months now. As we have seen this finalized, it now has many people asking how it will affect their current or future settlement agreements.

The biggest question that clients who are actively involved in or preparing for divorce litigation ask is … [Read more…]

The Lawyer as Advocate and Advisor | Divorce Attorney Charleston SC

September 18, 2017 By J. Michael DeTreville Leave a Comment

There comes a point in almost every family court case when the client and divorce attorney Charleston SC disagree on the next steps to take. These disagreements may only be over minor issues and they can be optimal times to flesh out important points of the case and strategize, but they can also be the source of much conflict if expectations are not set in advance. Every attorney has had a client bemoan that “you are supposed to be on my side.” What we as family law attorneys want you to know is that we are! We want you to get everything you have asked for. That is our role as an advocat [Read more…]

Charleston SC Divorce Attorneys | Understanding Joint Custody

June 13, 2017 By J. Michael DeTreville Leave a Comment

Custody is generally the most important issue people face when first meeting with Charleston SC divorce attorneys. So in any situation in which a divorcing couple has children, an exploration of the different types of custody is the first topic of conversation.

Joint custody is frequently the type of custody potential clients want to discuss first in our consultations, as the laws and courts in South Carolina have slowly come to view it more favorably. As with any [Read more…]

Charleston Lawyers | Conflict and Mediation, the Sanford Case Study

September 30, 2014 By Patricia O. DeTreville Leave a Comment

Mark Sanford’s Continuing Soap Opera, and How Mediation Can Help:

Mark Sanford has deluged all of us with the details of his personal life, and with his perception of those details. Most recently, Mr. Sanford took to Facebook and the newspapers to “update his constituents” on his personal life, and to announce he would finally retain the service [Read more…]

Divorce Lawyer in Charleston SC | Holidays with the Kids

June 19, 2014 By Patricia O. DeTreville Leave a Comment

As a long-time divorce lawyer in Charleston SC, I have seen an entire generation of children processed (literally) through the court system as part of their parents’ divorce. Along the way, these children, many now adults with children of their own, have been analyzed, scrutinized, poked, prodded, debated, and carefully considered. Decisions and rulings beyond number have been made for them, and in their best interests, all as determined by the system. What we discover at this point, however, is that these children feel that they have not been heard, and they definitely have [Read more…]

Charleston Family Court Attorney | What Happens at the Final Hearing?

June 6, 2014 By J. Michael DeTreville 2 Comments

Ed. note: This article presupposes a “final hearing” to be one in which the parties are placing an agreement on the record with the Family Court, and are proceeding with a divorce based on one year’s separation. A “final hearing” may also refer to a contested trial, which would be an entirely different article, or more likely, series of articles.

Having braved all of the hazards of divorce, having made the difficult decisions needed to settle your differences with your spouse in a compromised agreement, and having waited out the year-long separation period r [Read more…]