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Divorce Lawyer in Charleston | Picking Your Battles Wisely

February 12, 2014 By J. Michael DeTreville Leave a Comment

“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…]

James Island Divorce Lawyers | Loving Your Kids After Divorce

February 10, 2014 By Patricia O. DeTreville Leave a Comment

It’s almost Valentine’s Day. Here is some holiday advice from our James Island divorce lawyers on giving your children special gifts when they are experiencing the divorce or separation of their parents.

Every holiday brings strain to children whose parents are divorced, going through a divorce, or just separated – no matter how long it has been since their parents have been together.

Father and/or Mother may now have a new spouse (stepfather or stepmother), a significant other, or just a new boyfriend or girlfriend. There may or may not be loving grandparents in the pictu [Read more…]

Charleston Divorce Attorney | Changing a Child’s Name

February 7, 2014 By J. Michael DeTreville 1 Comment

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

February 5, 2014 By J. Michael DeTreville 1 Comment

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 Divorce Attorney: How Do Family Courts Enforce Their Orders?

January 16, 2014 By Patricia O. DeTreville Leave a Comment

If you are living under a Family Court Order – whether the order covers alimony, child support, custody and visitation, property division, restraining orders, or any combination [Read more…]

Divorce Lawyers in Charleston |Text Messages in Family Court

December 12, 2013 By J. Michael DeTreville 1 Comment

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…]

Charleston Divorce Attorney: Can I Change My Name When I Get Divorced?

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

I got a phone call the other day from a woman whose husband I had represented in their recent divorce. She represented herself in the divorce, so I suppose she didn’t know who else to turn to, but now two years after the divorce she wanted to know if the Decree of Divorce could be amended to allow her to change her name back to her maiden name.

I asked my staff to call her back and tell her I there was nothing I could do for her, and that she would need to contact independent counsel to go about changing her name. She wanted to know why I couldn’t help her, isn’t she entitled to change her n [Read more…]

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…]

Divorce Lawyers in Charleston SC: Should I Leave the House?

November 26, 2013 By Patricia O. DeTreville Leave a Comment

One of the most common questions asked of divorce lawyers in Charleston SC is “should I leave the house?” The decision as to who stays and who goes from the marital home can be complicated by a number of different factors:

Is personal safety an issue?

A marriage under stress resulting from physical abuse, drug or alcohol abuse, or abusive and demeaning behavior calls for personal safety to be the first consideration. If you find yourself in a living situation wher [Read more…]

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