Generally, if someone is incarcerated for nonpayment of child support, they have been held in civil contempt, and they can be released once they pay the amount set by the court as the "purge payment." The County Clerk's office can tell you how much the purge payment is.... View More

First, even if he had done a DNA test and was determined to be your father, the test result (by itself) would not be enough for your birth certificate to be changed. Your parents would still have needed to file an action to have him added to the birth certificate.

It is very possible the... View More

To seek to enforce the provisions of a prior court order, you must file a Rule to Show Cause. The requirements for a Rule to Show Cause are laid out in South Carolina Family Court Rule 14.

The South Carolina Supreme Court does not provide sample forms for enforcing orders related to marital... View More

There is not enough detail in your question to provide a specific answer. The first variable is whether the parents of the child(ren) are married to each other. If the parents are not married to each other, then the mother has sole custody of the child(ren) unless/until there is a court order... View More

If there is a prior Order addressing each parent's rights and obligations, it probably contains a provision requiring each parent to keep the other updated of their current addresses.

If the prior Order does not contain a provision like that, a parent who is entitled to visitation with... View More

In South Carolina, marital assets are those acquired between the date of marriage and the date a case is filed. To minimize the likelihood of a home you purchase after separation being considered a marital asset, you should (1) file an action in Family Court before purchase; and (2) not use marital... View More

A private investigator in Arizona should be able to run a "skip trace" to try to determine his whereabouts. You might also search for any public records related to his speeding ticket -- the jurisdiction where he received it likely has an address for him.

This is actually a question about taxes. Married couples can file taxes in one of two ways: "married filing jointly" or "married filing separately."

Filing your taxes as a married person, either jointly with your spouse or separately, does not affect your fiance's... View More

S.C. Code Ann. Section 63-17-1470(B) provides that a person who is subject to income withholding may petition the Family Court to terminate the withholding if (1) there is no longer a current order for support and all arrearages are paid; or (2) the payor has not previously terminated withholding... View More

Your best course of action is to seek the advice of a divorce lawyer who has experience dealing with abusive situations and orders of protection. However, you should note that "verbal abuse" is not a ground for divorce or basis for issuance of an order of protection in South Carolina.

In your court Order, there is likely language that designates one parent as the custodian and the other parent as the visiting parent; or, the "visiting parent" is the parent who has less time with the child(ren) overall. You may need to schedule a consultation with a family court lawyer... View More

Most states have enacted a version of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act (referred to as the "UCCJEA"), and the typical provisions of the UCCJEA provide that an initial custody case can only be brought in the "home state" of the child; for a child who is an... View More

Medicaid is funded by the federal government. For any South Carolina resident to receive those funds, federal law requires the person to seek child support from the other parent. However, the process for establishing child support through DSS is very cooperative, and you may be able to agree to him... View More

It is unclear how long you and your wife have lived in South Carolina, and that is an important fact for determining whether the Family Court would have authority to address any issues in a divorce between you and your wife. Assuming you have both lived here for at least 3 months, then the... View More

It sounds like you have sought child support through DSS's administrative process. Generally, if there is not an agreement on support during the conference, then a judge will establish support. If you have copies of any of his paystubs, you can look at his "year-to-date" gross income... View More

Under Family Court Rule 17, the judge can hold the Defendant in default and grant the relief requested by the Plaintiff, even if the Defendant does not appear at the hearing; provided, the Defendant must have been given proper notice of the hearing (which, for a final hearing, means the notice has... View More

In South Carolina, the Family Court will typically not allow you to voluntarily relinquish your rights to allow you to avoid paying child support.

The child's mother could go through the Department of Social Services administrative process to establish paternity and child support. If... View More

Family Court judges have the authority to hold someone in either civil contempt or criminal contempt. Whether a finding of contempt is civil or criminal depends on whether the person who violated the order is able to "purge" themselves of the punishment by becoming compliant with the... View More

First, it will depend on whether there is an order giving you custody of your child. Unless/until you have such an order, you are likely to continue to be obligated to pay child support as previously established.

If there is already an order giving you custody of your child, then you can go... View More

The administrative process for establishing child support that is available through the Department of Social Services does *not* include any ability to establish custody/visitation. However, it is common that when one parent tries to use that process to get support, then the other parent will file... View More