Spartanburg Divorce Lawyer & Attorney : Stevens-MacPhail Law Firm : South Carolina Family Law Serving Columbia, Charleston, Greenville, Hilton Head Island

The South Carolina Bar's Law Related Education Division has launched LawForKids.org, America's first stand alone web site dedicated to teaching children about the law.  The Site was made possible by collaboration with the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services and Education and an IOLTA grant from the SC Bar.  The specific goal of this site is educating children, their parents, communities, and schools to increase their knowledge about youth laws and to encourage law-abiding behavior.  You can visit the site by clicking HERE.

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A Guardian ad Litem (GAL) is a person lawfully invested with the power and charged with the duty of protecting a minor child’s interests during Family Court litigation.  Have you ever wondered what qualifications and training someone must have to be able to serve as a Guardian ad Litem in Family Court?  If so, or if you are curious as to the specific duties that GALs have in such cases, you should check out the "Guidelines for Guardians ad Litem for Children in Family Court" which was recently revised by the Children’s Law Committee of the South Carolina Bar.  This excellent, helpful resource is free and available for download by clicking HERE.

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From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

The new Grinch? Nah. Just a lawyer (no, they're not the same thing) who's famously discreet about his famous clientele. So don't expect juicy tidbits about the high-stakes unhitchings of Jane Fonda, David Justice or Marianne Gingrich (ex-Mrs. Newt No. 2) to surface in the Atlanta attorney's new book.

Instead, "Protecting Your Assets From A Georgia Divorce" (PSG Books, $19.95) is aimed squarely at the local Everyman and woman. From choosing the right lawyer to understanding how a "fair" settlement isn't necessarily an "equal" one, the book is a comprehensive, somewhat cautionary primer for Georgians considering or already in the process of divorcing.

Unfortunately, its arrival may be a case of perfect timing. An eyepopping number of marriages find the proverbial lump of coal in their stockings in December, says Mayoue, who evinces little cheer in making that statement. During a conversation in his Vinings office recently, Mayoue — who is donating all author royalties to Camp Sunshine, an Atlanta-based facility for children with cancer and their families — discussed divorce at the holidays and beyond in Georgia.

Q: If everyone reads your book, couldn't you possibly put yourself out of business here? Why take that risk?

Continue Reading...

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One of the many factors that the Court considers in child custody cases is the school and educational resources available at each parent's residence.  In other words, if the parents live in different school districts, how do they compare to each other? 

If both parents live in the same city or county, the information is usually easy to access and present to the Court. However, when the parents live in different states, it is somewhat more difficult.  In cases where the parents do not live in the same location, this issue can be even more important.

Fortunately, SchoolMatters.com is an online resource that enables parents (and their attorneys) to compare schools based upon performance of students on standardized tests, teacher-pupil ratios, and other critical factors.  This resource is a service of Standard & Poor's, and it is free.

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In child custody cases, parents often accuse each other of leaving the child inadequately supervised.  The allegations can be that the child was left home alone or left with someone who cannot properly supervise the child (such as relatives who are too old or too young).  Left Unsupervised: A Look at the Most Vulnerable Children, a 2003 study published by the non-profit research organization Child Trends addressed the large number of children are left without care and supervision by their parents.

Surprisingly, most States do not have regulations or laws about when a child is considered old enough to care for himself/herself or to care for other children.  Some states have guidelines or recommendations that are usually distributed through child protective services at the county level.  Similarly, reports of child neglect can be made to the S.C. Department of Social Services, though the response their tends to be very inconsistent and erratic.

As a practical matter, the difficulty in this area centers on the fact that every child is different.  Establishing a rule that a child must be X years old to stay home alone or supervise other children would not solve this problem, because some children are mature at an early age, some are immature, and many fall somewhere in the middle.  Wise parents base their decision about leaving his or her minor child unsupervised upon careful consideration of the child's maturity and emotional stability.

Family dynamics also must play a part in a parent's decisions about child care. Should a sibling be left in charge of younger siblings? If so, how old should that sibling be? How long should or could he/she be in charge? In some families, it would never work to leave one child in charge because of family dynamics, sibling rivalries, or other special challenges faced by one of more of the children.  The maturity and capabilities of the elected babysitter should be the controlling factors.

To help parents ensure that their children are safe, the University of Michigan Health System has compiled an excellent resource Babysitter Safety - What Parents and Sitters Need to Know.  This website includes the following types of information:  how to choose a babysitter, things to tell the sitter before you leave, information sitters should have, resources for sitters, the dangers of leaving kids home alone, information about problems associated with sibling sitters, and more.

Source:  "Home Alone: Child Care and Babysitter Issues" by Jeanne M. Hannah, published at her Updates in Michigan Family Law blog.

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Men, here is a great web site full of resources to help you become a better father to your child(ren). Every child needs a father that he or she can count on.  Children thrive when they have an involved father - someone who loves them unconditionally, knows them intimately, guides them carefully, and helps them achieve their destiny. 

Take a little time and check out Fathers.com. Created by the National Center for Fathering, it provides research-based training, practical tips and resources to help men be the involved fathers, grandfathers and father figures children need.

Source:  "Become a Better Father" by Dan Nunley, published at his Oklahoma Family Law Blog.

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Experienced family law attorneys know that it is sometimes necessary or desirable to hire other professionals to assist with particular issues in domestic cases.  Of course, the types of professionals  and tasks to be performed will vary, depending on the issues involved in each specific case.  Other professionals commonly used include:

• The professionals most commonly used in Family Court cases are private investigators.  Not only can these professionals be very helpful in obtaining information about a spouse’s misconduct, they can also help with many other types of issues, such as child custody and visitation cases.
• Mental health counselors are also helpful in many cases. These professionals can include psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed social workers, and custody evaluators.  Their services provided range widely and include psychological evaluations, anger management, conflict resolution, child counseling, domestic violence, and parenting issues.
• If parties cannot agree on the value of an asset, it may be necessary to hire an appraiser. Typically, the first type of appraiser that comes to mind is a real estate appraiser. However, there are also professional appraisers who can value anything from antiques, equipment, furniture, or collections to retirement accounts.
• Accountants are used in many Family Court cases when difficult financial issues arise. The most common areas in which an accountant can be beneficial are (a) determining the income of a self-employed individual, (b) valuing a retirement account, and (c) determining the value of a business entity.

If any of these issues arise in your family law case, your attorney will generally be able to refer you to a qualified professional.  Our firm, like most attorneys, strive to do everything we can to ensure that our clients receive excellent service, not only from us, but also from the other professionals with whom we work.

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If you have a child who has had to deal with a divorce, you should know about a A Kid's Guide to Divorce.  This website explains divorce in helpful language from a child's point of view.  Divorce can be a scary thing to grownups, so you can only imagine how children must feel about it.  The website has sections titled "Kids Can't Cause a Divorce!" and "Kids Can't Fix a Divorce".  It is available in both English and Spanish versions.

Source:  "A Kid's Guide to Divorce" by James J. Gross, published at his Not Just Every Other Weekend blog.

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For anyone concerned about their children's online safety, CNET has produced an extensive guide to keeping kids safe online.  Not only is there written information, but the guide also contains video reviews, demonstrations, and parent-driven discussion groups.  Their guide is divided into the following six sections:

1. Developing safe and smart Internet citizens
2. Parental controls that keep tabs on young Web surfers
3. Growing concerns over cyberbullying
4. Parents, tech outdo lawmakers on Internet safety
5. User-generated videos challenge parental controls
6. Readers address online safety for kids

Source:  "Keep Your Kids Safe Online" published at CNET.com.  Thanks to Rick Broida for his post at LifeHacker on this topic.

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Lawyers Weekly USA recently published an excellent article on parental alienation syndrome (PAS).  "Parental Alienation: The Latest Weapon in Nasty Divorces" takes an inside look at the various aspects of PAS from the perspectives of those involved in the legal system.  The article features interviews with psychologist Richard Gardner and several divorce attorneys: Steve Pradell of Anchorage, Alaska; Susan Gallagher of Minneapolis, Minnesota; Michael R. Walsh of Orlando, Florida; Patrick O'Reilly of Buffalo, New York; and me, Ben Stevens.

Some of the quotes from me in this article are:

• Although parental alienation has become a common weapon in custody cases around the country, proving it can be a tall order.  "It's like everything else in a custody case - it all comes down to what you can prove at trial. A lot of bad things happen, but they're very difficult to prove," said Ben Stevens of Stevens MacPhail in Spartanburg, S.C.
• But the heart of any parental alienation case is the expert testimony, according to Stevens.  "Take the child to a mental health professional and let him do testing," he suggested. "Then you've got an expert witness to come and say, 'In my expert opinion, this is what's going on.'"
• Third-party witnesses can also be a powerful weapon in court.  "Try to line up witnesses that would have had the opportunity to see [the parent] interact with the child. Teachers, scout leaders, dance teachers, karate teachers - people who see them during times when parents let their guard down and can say, 'I've never seen Dad say anything bad about Mom or Mom say anything bad about Dad,'" Stevens suggested.
• "I encourage my clients to act reasonably, assume anything they do or say could be shown to the judge - or better yet, that the judge is standing there watching," said Stevens. "I don't know if that's great advice or I've just had good clients, but I haven't had many alienation claims alleged against my clients."
• Stevens is also careful to take cases he believes in strongly.  "It's not worth it to me to deal with clients who are acting deliberately," he said. "If they're going to do that to their child's parent, I'm going to have a problem with them at some point."

The other attorneys interviewed in the article make interesting points, and some even disagree with  me on certain issues.  I strongly suggest that you read this article and consider all of the points raised by the various contributors.  You can read the full text of the article by clicking HERE.

Source:  "Parental Alienation: The Latest Weapon in Nasty Divorces" by Amy Johnson Conner, published at Lawyers Weekly USA.

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The ABA Section of Family Law has opened registration for the 2007 Trial Advocacy Institute and Advanced Trial Advocacy Institute.  The Institute, now in its 21st year, is one of the premier trial training programs for family law practitioners.

The Trial Advocacy Institute only has 48 available slots this year, with the Advanced Institute only having 10 slots.  If you are interested in learning more and/or obtaining an application for either program, you can click HERE. 

I have not been through this program yet, but I hope to be able to do so one day when time permits.  I have heard great things about the Trial Advocacy Institute, and the faculty and agenda have appeared to be outstanding in past years.

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