Whether it’s for a divorce or a custody dispute, its rarely a happy period in the lives of most clients when they seek out the help of a family law attorney. However, there is nothing truly as heart breaking as when one spouse is having to endure domestic violence. It is a dynamic that is
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What is the difference between a “contested divorce” and an “uncontested divorce?” Simply put, a “contested divorce” refers to when a couple disagrees on some issue concerning a divorce. The parties, through their lawyers, present evidence to a Family Court Judge who makes the ultimate determination on the issue in accordance with State law or,
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In order for States to receive Federal payments for foster care and adoption assistance, Federal law under title IV-E of the Social Security Act requires that they “consider giving preference to an adult relative over a nonrelated caregiver when determining placement for a child, provided that the relative caregiver meets all relevant State child protection
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EVIDENTIARY ISSUES SURROUNDING THE USE OF DRUG TEST RESULTS IN CHILD WELFARE CASES AND THE USE OF DRUG TEST IN DEVELOPING TREATMENT PLANS
The purpose of Chapter 7 of the Children’s Code Section 63-7-10 is to insure that any intervention by the state into family life on behalf of children be guided by law, by strong philosophical underpinnings and by sound professional standards for practice. Child welfare services MUST be based on these principles. It is the policy
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In the recent case of Brackeen v. Zinke, Case 4:17-cv-00868-O, A Texas Federal Court in Forth Worth declared that the Indian Child Welfare Act categorizes children in the State’s Welfare system by race, not membership or eligibility for membership in a tribe, and that these classifications based on a child’s race gives illegal racial preferences.
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According to recent reports, the divorce rate is beginning to dramatically decrease. What is causing the divorce rate to plummet? The date suggest that the answer is due to millennials, who are approaching relationships and marriage differently from baby boomers, Generation X. Apparently, millennials tend to be picker about who they marry. Other differences are
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Another such defense to a fault-based divorce is the defense of recrimination. The defense of recrimination can be raised when one spouse accuses the other party of misconduct that the alleging spouse is also guilty of committing. There is a saying in the law that those who come to court asserting a claim must do
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Mediation is often a very misunderstood process. Part of the reason possibly comes from the stigma that alternative dispute resolution is “mandatory” in South Carolina. While the rules require that parties physically attend a mediation session in order to get to a final hearing, there is nothing mandatory about making the parties settle their case
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In order to obtain a divorce in South Carolina, the party seeking the divorce must first meet the residency requirement established by law. In order to file for divorce the person filing (plaintiff) must have resided in a period of at least one year prior to filing. If the Plaintiff is not a South Carolina
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As a long time advocate for children and as a former Attorney for the South Carolina Department of Social Services, it’s not an over exaggeration to say that no other recent court case has had as major an impact as the recent case of SCDSS v. Boulware. Opinion No. 27759, South Carolina Supreme Court, January
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