Family Law

If you are facing divorce, a child custody battle, support problems or any other family law issue, you should promptly seek help from an experienced family lawyer. Working with an attorney is the best way to ensure that your interests and your children's interests are protected during times of change.

The Childs Law Firm has more than 30 years of experience. We serve clients throughout the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson area, offering compassionate service combined with aggressive representation in an effort to achieve the best results.

When you are at the center of a divorce or other family law matter, it can be difficult to stay focused. Things can get especially complicated when a dispute arises during the legal process, requiring litigation or another method of dispute resolution.

When disputes include how the separating parents will be handling the children, a guardian ad item is appointed and paid for by the litigants. Other experts may need to be hired to address financial matters. No matter what comes your way, the Childs Law Firm has the experience, drive and steady hand to help you fully protect your rights and interests throughout the legal process.

If you wish to speak to a knowledgeable family law attorney about your divorce or related legal matter, call the Childs Law Firm for help. You can reach our office by calling 864-242-9997 or by filing out the online consultation form. Family law consultations are free.


More On Family Law:

Grounds for Divorce

✓  Adultry
✓  Habitual use of alcohol and/or drugs
✓  Physical abuse
✓  No-fault/one year continuous seperation

Child Custody

Creating a custody and/or visitation agreement or parenting plan is always difficult but with the guidance and direction of a knowledgeable family law attorney who is familiar with South Carolina child custody laws and who understands the sensitive situation, you can feel confident making major decisions that will affect your child's life forever. With the help of an experienced lawyer, parents may be able to reach a custody agreement outside of court.

For contested custody and visitation issues, the court appoints a guardian ad litem to protect the interests of the child. As a child matures, the courts may consider the preference of the child.

Computing child support is an often frustrating part of a family law case. Although there are Child Support Guidelines to follow, many factors are involved in determining how much child support will be paid, such as whether the parent is working at his or her full potential, intentionally working less hours, child care components, the number of nights of visitation along with many other factors. The key is to assure the right income is being factored into the computation. Whether you are getting divorced or were never married, you need a knowledgeable, skilled attorney on your side to protect your rights and financial interests.

The goal in child custody and visitation matters is to create as happy, loving and caring an environment as possible for the child, in fairness to both the noncustodial and custodial parent.

Calculating Child Support

When a judge makes a decision as to the amount of child support, he or she must apply a large number of factors mandated by the South Carolina legislature. A few of these are:

✓  The income of divorcing spouses
✓  Noncovered medical expenses
✓  Work-related day care expenses
✓  Employment
✓  Parents' ability to earn an income
✓  Children from previous marriage and/or relationships

It is important that all available income is identified, and none is hidden. Temporary child support should be awarded while a divorce is pending.

It is wise to consult with an experienced child support lawyer to learn what you are allowed to receive, or what you should be paying as appropriate support. In either case, work with an attorney who understands child support laws in South Carolina, how to protect your financial interests, and how to ensure that your child's financial needs are met.

Alimony

Divorce can have a huge financial impact on both parties. But, for the spouse with less income, or for the spouse who stayed home to take care of children and give up a career, divorce can be financially devastating. If you are the spouse who may end up paying alimony, it is not that the other party should not be paid alimony, but what is a fair amount of alimony. However, a big problem is that there is not enough money being earned to cover the expenses of two homes; if a family was just covering his or her expenses when living under one roof, it becomes much harder now to support two households with the same income.

Alimony, or spousal support, takes on several forms and is intended to provide the spouse with less income with enough money to cover living expenses following divorce. Alimony can be awarded on a temporary or long-term basis.

Determining Alimony in SC Divorce

There are no rules or set standards in determining how much alimony should be paid, if any. When determining how much spousal support should be paid and how long the payments should last, the court will consider a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:

✓  The length of the marriage
✓  The ability to pay
✓  The actual need
✓  The age of each spouse
✓  Each spouse's health
✓  And many other factors
✓  Modifying or Enforcing Existing Orders

Alimony can be modified if either party has experienced a significant change in circumstances that requires an increase, decrease or termination of payment. Such a modification can only be granted by the court so acting unilaterally without the consent of the other party can have devastating effects such as inviting a contempt action for violating the specific provisions of the order granting support. The Childs Law Firm can help you with all aspects of either modification or enforcement.

Let us help you with your complex legal needs.