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Charleston Divorce: Can I Withhold Visitation From a Parent Who Is Behind on Child Support?

December 9, 2013 By J. Michael DeTreville Leave a Comment

Every day we see custodial parents who are pushed to the brink by unpaid child support obligations. The child support system in South Carolina can be slow, and it certainly is imperfect, so it can seem to a parent struggling because of unpaid support that the system doesn’t work, or even worse, doesn’t care.

These feelings lead often to lead to thoughts of self-help; “if the system can’t make him pay child support maybe I can.” And what is the only “bargaining chip” a custodial parent may have in their relationship with the non-paying parent [Read more…]

Charleston Family Court Lawyers: Can I Date During Divorce?

December 6, 2013 By Patricia O. DeTreville Leave a Comment

Hands down, no contest, the most frequently asked question of Charleston Family Court lawyers at initial consultation is “when can I date”?

Sometimes, the question is posed more subtly, such as inquiring about going out socially in groups or wanting to know more about language which can be added into Separation Agreements allowing either spouse to live as if unmarried. Most often, however, the question is plainly put, and usually comes up at the very end of a consultation.

Since it is, obviously, a sensitive and important issue, let’s review it here.

If yo [Read more…]

Charleston Divorce: Child Visitation with Skype and Facetime

November 10, 2013 By J. Michael DeTreville Leave a Comment

NPR recently did an interesting piece about infants and toddlers and the increasing screen time they receive in our tech-driven world. Suffice to say, doctors, parenting specialists, and others in the know all universally agree: passive screen time (movies, shows, games, etc.) for children two years and younger has a negative impact [Read more…]

Cost of Divorce: An Initial Analysis

October 28, 2013 By J. Michael DeTreville

Not surprisingly, we field questions about the cost of divorce in our office every day. Frequently, these queries come in the form of cold calls — an unidentified caller, without providing the most basic of information about himself or herself, expects our office support staff to provide an exact price for a divorce, as if he or she were shopping for some tangible commodity, like toothpaste. Perhaps even less surprisingly, none of these “price-shoppers” have ever become a client of the firm.

The process of providing a potential client with detailed information as to the [Read more…]

Charleston County Family Court: Fall Review

October 23, 2013 By Patricia O. DeTreville Leave a Comment

It’s fall in the Charleston County Family Court.

Fall brings relief in so many ways: a little breeze here and there, not quite so much sun, and the anticipation of cool nights with maybe even a sweater or two being brought out! The breeze has been blowing through the Charleston County Family Court, as well, with changes in practice Rules, public airing of one adoption case, and a change in focus in some cases, whether they be alimony cases, child support cases, custody case, or any combination [Read more…]

Charleston Custody Lawyer: Parental Misconduct

October 7, 2013 By Patricia O. DeTreville Leave a Comment

“We all make mistakes.” Certainly, we do, and we hear this all the time. However, it seems like every day parents fail to care properly for their children. Does every parent realize the long-term consequences?

The Family Court has the authority to remove a child or children from the parents’ home for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the parents are using or selling drugs. Perhaps their home is filthy beyond a reasonable measure. Perhaps they don’t supervise, feed or care for their small children. Perhaps their method of discipline is too severe. There are any number of circumst [Read more…]

Charleston Divorce Lawyers: The Standard Visitation Generation

June 2, 2013 By Patricia O. DeTreville Leave a Comment

Our Charleston divorce lawyers have seen at least one generation of children grow up with the “standard visitation” regimen of living with Mom and spending “every other weekend” with Dad. Children did not like it, still don’t like it, and have suffered under this routine. What do children say when asked about this routine, which includes sharing holidays, travelling distances, splitting summers, and all the rest? Many of them are young adults now and they are not shy about their opinions:

1) They hate travelling on holidays. [Read more…]

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