Legal matters involving your family are some of the most stressful situations people can ever have to deal with. Whether it is the dissolution of a marriage, a battle for custody of a child or how much child support will be paid, or any other issue handled within a family court, the team at Greenville Family Attorneys are here to help you get through this trying time.
Our attorneys have years of experience helping people just like you get through this trying time with the best resolution possible.
No one enters a marriage thinking about how things will go if their relationship falls apart and divorce is needed. While a small group of people is able to come to an agreement on their own terms, the vast majority of couples need the help of a divorce lawyer.
Our Greenville divorce attorneys have worked with hundreds of couples, fighting for our clients to ensure that their marriages are dissolved in the most optimal way possible. Don’t go into your proceedings unprepared, get expert fighting for you by contacting our office now.
As mothers and fathers ourselves, we understand that your children are your life and losing them is a simply unbearable thought. No matter how nasty the circumstances have become in your marriage, our child custody attorneys in Greenville will fight for your custodial rights as though your children were our children.
Don’t let a vengeful former partner take from you one of the most important aspects in your life, contact Greenville Family Attorneys today.
When marriages end and families break apart, the amount of support that is owed is often one of the most contentious aspects of a divorce. We know that you will do everything in your power to make sure your children are taken care of and have the best life possible but are not interested in giving your former spouse superfluous financial support under the guise of child support.
Our child support attorneys in Greenville have years of experience ensuring that child support agreement are fair and equitable and are eager to do the same for you in your time of need.
We are dedicated to providing our clients with professional & compassionate counsel.
Family law attorneys, in the most basic sense, handle matters that are heard by family courts. The most common issues they handle include divorce, child custody, child support, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, and wills and estates. A skilled family attorney will often serve as both a mediator and advocate for their clients, first working to reach a rational and fair resolution without having to take the matter to trial, and then, if necessary, aggressively fighting for their clients in a court of law.
Each divorce is a unique event, with its own set of circumstances. As such, there is no set dollar figure for how much a divorce in SC will cost, but according to Martindale-NOLO, the average divorce in South Carolina will cost somewhere between $4,000 – $28,000. This amount does not factor in the splitting of assets or debt nor does it take into consideration any potential child support or alimony payments. These fees include things such as filing/document costs, time spent by your attorney preparing the case and any necessary compensation for expert witnesses or consultants.
In South Carolina, when a child is born to a wedded couple, both parents have equal custodial rights under the law. This is not true when the child is born outside of wedlock, in which case the mother is granted custody and the father must appeal the court for rights of visitation or custody. South Carolina code § 63-15-240(B) sets out 17 specific criteria for determining custody, with the basic impetus being the well being and needs of the child being the driving force in deciding which parent receives primary custody. When custody is contested by either parent, the court will set a guardian ad litem for the child at the first temporary hearing. The guardian will act as the representative of the child, advocating for their best interest. They will investigate all aspects of the child’s life, speak to witnesses and the parties involved, and observe the child with each parent in their homes.
In order to receive child support, you must begin by applying with the SC Department of Social Services. While you do not have to be the custodial parent, the child must live in your home a majority of the time. The state of SC provides a calculator to get an approximation of how much your child support may be, but there are factors that can result in deviations from the calculation. Some of these items include, educational expenses for the child, debt, extraordinary medical expenses for the child, spousal maintenance payments, or the parties reaching an agreement outside of the court.
Once an agreement is reached and the order is issued by the court, the responsible party is required to make the payment on time, and in full, with no exceptions. This holds true for the length of the agreement, unless a modification is issued by the court. Things life a major medical event or the loss of a job can prompt a petition for change. The petition must be filed with the court and a substantial change in life circumstances will be required to have the modification approved. Until a new agreement has been ordered by the court, the original order is valid and failure to pay may result in legal repercussions.
When you are looking for a divorce lawyer to help you, we advise to remember your A.B.C.’s!
A is for availability, as having an attorney who is responsive and available to help you through this trying time is extremely important. Having a “great” attorney is only nice if you can actually communicate with them.
B is for Believeability and that goes both ways. Your attorney needs to be someone who you feel comfortable being completely honest with and that you feel gives the same honesty back to you. There are few things that can cause a trial to go worse than having lied to your attorney, only to have the other party expose you as a liar at trial.
Finally, C is for Control. You are seeking out an attorney so that they can guide you through the process, so you want to make sure that your attorney is capable of controlling the situation, dealing with unexpected issues, and obtaining an optimal result for you.
The terms of a child custody agreement are made by the court in a manner that they view to be in the best interest of the child. South Carolina law recognizes that the circumstances that dictated the original agreement may
Preparing for divorce proceeding is no easy task. When you are doing so you will have to be concerned about the different important major issues in your life even though the process of doing so can be uncomfortable and unpleasant.