DeTreville Law & Mediation, LLC
While you may not have heard of this particular case (being Jennifer Brown v. Baby Girl Harper, a minor under the age of seven, and Holly Lawrence, Appellate Case No. 2014-001746), Baby Girl Harper has recently past her first birthday. A few months ago, the South Carolina Supreme Court took on the enormous and sad responsibility of removing Baby Girl Harper from the home of her Adoptive Mother, Ms. Lawrence, and d [Read more…]
Within the past year, newspapers in the Charleston area were full of stories about a prolonged custody and adoption battle between an adoptive couple living in Charleston County and a biological father living in Oklahoma. While that case ultimately was decided by the US Supreme Court, and included issues of whether the child was a member of an Indian tribe, issues of notice were also argued. In any adoption case, the issue of notice to the people who are necessary to the cas [Read more…]
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…]
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.
“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…]
