I'm Not Happy....I Want to Appeal!

Many times, people may not be happy with the outcome or conclusion of their family court hearing.  They want to APPEAL!  However, one must understand that appeals are not because you are unhappy with an outcome.  When you ask an attorney to appeal, he must have a legal reason to appeal.  Appeals essentially ask a higher court to decide whether or not the family court judge has made an error in law in making his decisions.

Within thirty days of the Court issuing its last Order in the matter, you have the right to appeal to our appellate Courts. That appeal is initially made to the South Carolina Court of Appeals.

Appeals are very expensive and generally take somewhere between twelve and eighteen months to complete. The appeal process involves securing transcripts of all of the proceedings in the Family Court, copies of the exhibits and the like, and then having all of the pertinent portions of the lower Court records bound into volumes and represented to the appellate Court. That becomes the Record on Appeal.

Once the Record on Appeal is completed, the spouse who appeals must present a written Appellant's Brief. The opposing spouse then has the opportunity to present what is called a Respondent's Brief, to which the appealing spouse has the right to enter a Reply Brief. These Briefs set forth your legal position on the facts and law as they apply to your case.

In addition to appealing final decisions, there are also procedures to go before the appellate Court to challenge the implementation of Orders, such as by a Supersedeas or Petition for Stay. Those are called extraordinary writs.

After the Record on Appeal and Briefs has been completed, the appellate Court will then typically set the case for oral argument. In the Court of Appeals oral argument takes place before a three Judge panel. In the Supreme Court, oral arguments are made before the full Court (five Justices). In some instances, the appellate Court can dispense with oral argument and decide the case upon the record on appeal and briefs.  The appellate Court then issues its opinion, which it may do by published or unpublished opinion. Typically, that opinion will affirm, reverse or reverse in part and affirm in part.

The first step of the appellate process begins with the Court of Appeals. Then there is a limited right of appeal from the Court of Appeals to the South Carolina Supreme Court on certiorari. If the case is affirmed on appeal, then the Family Court Order will become the final Order in this case and will then be implemented.

If the Family Court Order is reversed or modified, the appellate Court can direct specifically how the Family Court Order is to be modified, or it may remand the case to the Family Court for further proceedings consistent with the appellate Court's opinion.

Appeals are generally considered expensive as you must order and pay for transcripts of the lower Court proceedings, which must then be assembled and duplicated in order to become the Record on Appeal. The Briefs are labor intensive and take many lawyer hours to complete. Appeals should be taken only when you are truly aggrieved by the lower Court's decision and the economics of the situation justifying the cost.

Terminationof Parental Rights (TPR)

Many people are unaware that in the state of South Carolina, one can lose all legal rights to their child.  These termination of rights for any legal or biological parent are known as the "termination of parental rights" or TPR.  You will see this type of action in two primary legal cases:  (1) where the SC Department of Social Services has removed a child from their parent/guardian's care and placed them in the foster care system and (2) during the adoption of a child.

In order for TPR to take place, a family court job must find by clear and convincing evidence that one of the statutory grounds exists to terminate these rights.  Parental rights have been terminated due to various reasons, including but not limited to; abuse and neglect, one parent has murdered the other parent, and abandonment. If you or someone you know has questions regarding pending TPR hearing/case or adoption, have them contact a family law attorney today.

See more information on Termination of Parent rights by clicking  here.

Merry Christmas and Remember the Reason for the Season!

Hear the Words by clicking below:
Rogers and Judd Version

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has come to make you new?
This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will calm the storm with His hand?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God?

Mary did you know.. Ooo Ooo Ooo

The blind will see.
The deaf will hear.
The dead will live again.
The lame will leap.
The dumb will speak
The praises of The Lamb.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
The sleeping Child you're holding is the Great, I Am.

South Carolina...Child Support for the College Years

This past spring, the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned a previous Supreme Court decision requiring a parent to contribute to their child's college education. In the case, Webb v. Sowell the father appealed when the court required him to help with his son's college expenses.  The South Carolina Supreme Court agreed with the father and stated it was a violation of the State's Equal Protection Clause.

Many have argued that it's a parents' responsibility to assist their young adult child with this start in life.  However, those who are required to pay child support have felt that it was unfair to require this of them.  They were paying for an adult child's living expenses.  One may argue that college is a choice, not a requirement. Likewise, how will the play out for students who are considered dependent for the purposes of financial aid/assistance? 


 For more information on which states allow for this type of child support, see an interesting article by About.com, and talk to a family law attorney.  If you are in the state of South Carolina and have a previous order requiring you to pay child support for your college-aged child, contact us today.

A.R.T. & Family Law in S.C. --No, Not Picasso!

Technological advancement extends past cell phones, computers and plasma televisions. Today, more than ever, technology has a firm hand in expanding our families. Women and men are finding new ways to "be fruitful and multiply." As more and more families decide to use these methods to reproduce and have children, the more issues one can expect in the rise of family law issues.

Artificial Insemination is a process by where a female uses her egg inside her body and is injected by the sperm of the contributing male.

In Vitro Fertilization is a process by where an egg donor and carrier may or may not be the same woman. The eggs are removed from the female contributor and fertilized by the sperm of the male contributor. Once there is successful fertilization, the embryos are placed/implanted into the female carrier.

These pregnancies may contribute to a cast of real life issues.
1. Cases where there is no biological connection to the child from the persons who will become the parents.
2. What happens if there is a divorce before the implantation of the embryos...who owns the embryos?
3. What if the child has a biological connection to only one of the parents?
4. What if a surrogate carrier is used, and she wants to keep the baby?

Currently in the State of South Carolina there is only one case dealing with Assisted Reproductive Technology. The name of the case is : IN re: Baby Doe, 291. SC 389, 353 SE2d 877 (1987). In this case, the husband and wife tried but were not able to conceive. The Husband was no longer able to have children. They used a sperm donor and impregnated the Wife. After the conception, the parties separated and the husband filed a law suit asking the court to state that he was not the father, and not legally responsible for the child. In this case the SC Supreme Court held that because there was consent for the wife to conceive through artificial insemination that the Husband was indeed legally responsible for the child.

With this being a growing field in other states, it will surely trickle to the State of South Carolina as people from those state move to South Carolina, and as South Carolinians seek these methods to grow their families. We can only wait until that time to see how the courts will handle these situations.