November 21st, 2024
The November 20, 2024 Supreme Court opinion in Grungo-Smith v. Grungo, 444 S.C. 556, 910 S.E.2d 455 (2024), reversed the Court of Appeals ruling in Grungo-Smith v. Grungo, 438 S.C. 508, 884 S.E.2d 219 (Ct. App. 2023), and reinstated the family court’s order granting primary custody to Father. Grungo-Smith stems from an action filed by […]
Read MoreSeptember 17th, 2019
While not thought of as such, the guardian’s questionnaire is akin to additional (child-custody related) interrogatories. As an example, the current questionnaire of a local attorney/guardian, S. Maria Averill, whose work I greatly respect follows: Admittedly such questionnaires are not answered under oath. Still, inaccurate responses or responses that trash the other parent or that […]
Read MoreJanuary 15th, 2017
Working on materials for an upcoming lecture on attorney/guardian interactions, I realized that it had been years since I last felt compelled to “attack” the guardian ad litem at trial. However I am often asked by colleagues on effective techniques to undermine the guardian. There are times when the only effective strategy for minimizing a […]
Read MoreJanuary 12th, 2017
The following are materials for an upcoming Charleston County guardian ad litem luncheon. I am posting them as a blog so that folks can comment. These materials can also be downloaded as a Microsoft Word file. I often “recycle” lectures, so comments may be used to update the materials. A lot of the bickering between attorneys and guardians […]
Read MoreApril 22nd, 2016
A former mentee of mine, who is developing a thriving practice as a guardian ad litem in private custody cases, recently asked for my opinion on whether guardians should give opinions. S.C. Code § 63-3-830(A)(6) prohibits guardians from making recommendations on custody in their final written report and places limits on making custody recommendations at […]
Read MoreAugust 27th, 2013
Frequently guardians ad litem take direction regarding their investigation from the parents or attorneys for the parents without exercising their own independent judgment. Sometimes litigants or attorneys will inform the guardian the case is [some variation of] “close to settled” and ask the guardian to forgo their investigation to hold down fees. Other times these […]
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