Our firm assists clients in all aspects of family law including
• Child Custody and Visitation Schedules
• Divorce, Alimony, and Separate Maintenance and Support
• Domestic Violence Restraining Orders
• Child Support
• Prenuptial Agreements
• Mediation
• Adoption
Divorce
Every divorce proceeding is unique. We handle straightforward uncomplicated divorces and complex marital dissolutions. A divorce can involve
• Alimony
• Division of property
• Complex business evaluation
• Mutual funds, stocks and securities distribution
• Evaluation of assets
• Debt management
Working with financial analysts, we can be trusted to negotiate an equitable distribution of debt and assets.
Child Custody
The breakup of a marriage is more traumatic for the children than for the parents. Thus, parents should exercise great care to minimize the emotional toll on children when a separation takes place.
When parents separate, decisions regarding the custody and support of the child must be made. If the parents are not able to resolve these issues, the decision will be left to the court. When deciding issues regarding child custody and visitation, the family courts will consider a number of factors including the preference of the child, the mental and physical health of the parents, and the relationship between the child and the parents and siblings. The underlying standard applied by family courts is "the best interest of the child."
We understand the impact that divorce and parental separation has on children and work hard to negotiate effective custody arrangements and parenting plans that are in the best interests of your children. We help families establish agreements and plans that recognize and respond to all family relationships. We encourage parents to decide for themselves what is in their children's best interests regarding parenting, custody, and visitation. The alternative is litigation, an inherently adversarial event, over custody, which imposes a third-party as the decision maker and all too often results in emotional trauma for all parties, especially, the children.
ChildSupport Child support is a parent's obligation that is enforceable by family courts. Family court judges apply the South Carolina Child Support Guidelines to establish the level of support separated or divorced parents are to provide to support their children.
Adoption
While adopting a child can be an immensely rewarding experience, it often is accompanied by a host of legal and bureaucratic complexities. Those who approach the process with the aid of a knowledgeable attorney find that they are relieved of much of the delays, frustration, and expense it often entails.
The essential requirement for biological and adoptive parents is that they accept adoption as being absolutely irreversible. Domestic adoptions are not subject to widespread legal challenges, but it is not impossible for birth parents or birth relatives to initiate proceedings to revoke an adoption.