8/1/10 8/1/10

Your Favorite Posts of July 2010

In case you missed them when they were posted earlier, here are the top ten most-viewed posts for July 2010.

7/14/10 7/14/10

Who's In the Court Room?

One of the concerns I hear from clients as we are preparing for both contested and uncontested divorce hearing is who is going to be in the court room with us? Family Courts, except for cases like child abuse and neglect matters, are open to the public and that means any one could be sitting in on your hearing.The reality is that in nearly every case you will only find a handful of people in the courtroom with you:

Family Court Judge
Court Report - the person who is recording everything that is being said in the courtroom to keep an exact record of what is happening in there.
Deputy/Bailiff
Lawyers
Parties
Witnesses

That's pretty much it. Occasionally, a law student, newly minted lawyer, or paralegal student will be observing cases as part of a class assignment or bar requirement to practice.

7/13/10 7/13/10

Think Before You File

Sometimes it is good to take a deep breath before you go barging ahead in your case. I recently defended a Rule to Show Cause (contempt) hearing for a client filed by his wife. It appeared that she filed it as a retaliation for a letter that I mailed to her on behalf of my client. There were some pretty nasty allegations of contempt in the papers and my client was worried although he believed he had done nothing wrong. Just so you know, a rule to show cause hearing is what a person files to enforce a previous court order. If someone has not done what they were ordered to do by the court and they are found to have willfully disobeyed that order they can be punished by jail time up to one year, fines up to $1,500.00 and up to 300 hours of community service (or any combination of the three). This is serious!As we walked into the courtroom, my client's ex-wife appeared cocky and arrogant. She sought the contempt and attorney fees. However, she did not have a strong case. She let emotion and anger rule her rather than common sense. She did not tell the whole story to her attorney who was not ready for our defense. The rule to show cause was dismissed, and to add insult to injury for the ex-wife, she was ordered to pay for my client's attorney fees for defending the matter.So, next time you feel like you've been done wrong and you're ready to bring the shock and awe, take a step back, honestly consult with your lawyer and make a plan, but don't forget to look at the big picture and don't forget that anything can happen in the courtroom and quickly things can get turned around on you.

5/5/10 5/5/10

Top UpstateFamilyLawBlog.com Posts for April 2010

Here are the top posts from April 2010.

4/10/10 4/10/10

Infidelity Stats: 20% of Men and 10% of Women

Came across this infidelity infographic on the Fast Company website this afternoon in an article about Tiger Woods. Interesting...One interesting stat on this infographic is that 90% of people who have had online affairs get addicted to them and begin another immediately after the current one ends. With the advent of Facebook and other networking sites, it is easier and easier to "hook up" online these days. While an online affair may not be enough to lead to a divorce on adultery grounds in South Carolina, the nature of this activity is such that it is a slippery slope that leads to adultery.Via: OnlineSchools.org

4/8/10 4/8/10

What Happens After my Temporary Hearing?

A temporary hearing in a divorce case can set the tone for the rest of the matter. It is probably good to note right here that the decision made by a judge at a temporary hearing is temporary in nature (hence the name) and it carries no weight as far as what the trial judge may or may not rule on. Therefore, if you are ruled against at the temporary hearing it isn't the end of the world. However, when a judge rules for or against a person at a temporary hearing it seems to give each party some false sense of power or weakness in the case.After your temporary hearing a temporary order will be prepared and signed by the judge and that sets the standard of conduct for the remainder of the litigation. Generally, in this period between the temporary hearing and the final hearing the parties will engage in discovery, potentially take depositions of key witnesses, mediate the case, and attempt to reach a negotiated settlement. If there are minor children involved, a guardian ad litem will be appointed who will perform an investigation into the issues surrounding the minor children.This process can take several months. Often, depending on the complexity of the case, it can last over a year. The final phase before the final hearing is the trial preparation phase where you and your lawyer will be preparing for trial by meeting with witnesses, preparing any necessary witness subpoenas, creating trial exhibits, etc. All of this leads up to the final hearing in your case.

4/2/10 4/2/10

Top UpstateFamilyLawBlog.com Posts for March 2010

In case you missed them, here are the top 10 posts from this blog in March 2010 (according to Google Analytics). And no, I'm not getting anything from Google for saying that.

Just for kicks, here are some of the top keywords used to find UpstateFamilyLawBlog this month:

how long does it take to get a divorce in south carolina
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tripp atkins greenville sc
sc dss advice
sc divorce options 2010
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how long does an uncontested divorce take in south carolina
how long does it take to schedule a divorce hearing in south carolina

3/23/10 3/23/10

Is Your Facebook Page Going to Be Used Against You in Your Divorce?

A few weeks ago I attended a continuing legal education seminar and one of the topics of discussion was finding information about a party using the internet. Now this isn't any deep private investigator stuff this is using public information like someone's public Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter profiles to learn about a person. The speaker was really more experienced in using these sites to gain information about parties to injury cases, but I have seen it used in divorce and child custody matters as well.There are tons of stories out there of old high-school sweethearts rekindling their relationships on Facebook with current marriages left in the dust. But, how can Facebook or Twitter be used against you in a divorce or child custody case? I've even seen a newspaper article from the UK where a wife found out that her husband was divorcing her because he changed his marital status on Facebook.If your spouse suspects that you are cheating on him/her they could go to your social media accounts and print out the conversations and photographs you have put up there for the world to see. Those conversations can be pretty damning - especially if they are pulled out of context. The photographs can also be pretty harmful. Last year, I worked on a child custody case and represented the father. The mother tried to use photos and comments on his Facebook and MySpace accounts showing him partying and drinking to prove that he was a bad father. I have used Facebook conversations and photos to help prove adultery in divorce cases.One way to find information about your spouse is to use an online tool called Flowtown. Flowtown lets you enter an e-mail address and it shows you where that person is interacting with social media online.Is there evidence that can be used against you on your Facebook page?If you use Facebook or other social media sites and you are facing divorce, a child custody suit or other legal matter, here are some resources for you to check out form other legal blogs:

Facebook No-No's for Divorcing Couples by Ben Stevens at www.SCfamilylaw.com
How to Find the Opposing Party on Facebook by Lee Rosen at Divorce Discourse
Using Social Networks to Gather Evidence by the Trial Technologist's View
Social Networking Sites can Provide Key Evidence by Dan Berexa at Dan Berexa's Tennessee Law Blog
Florida Couples try to Sway Divorce Proceedings with Evidence from Facebook by Keith Maynard at the Jacksonville Divorce Lawyer Blog.
Here's a great video by Lee Rosen about this topic as well: