If you’re fighting for child custody in Charleston, SC, it’s wise to have a child custody attorney on your side. These cases can be difficult, and the court will look at numerous things as it decides about child custody for your family. Knowing the standards and requirements of South Carolina law is a big plus as you plan, and a local attorney who is familiar with those laws and with the local courts will be an enormous asset.
Child Custody Laws and Standards for Charleston, SC
Types of Custody
There are several types of custody that you could end up with in South Carolina:
Sole Legal Custody
With sole legal custody, one parent is given all the responsibility of raising the child and making decisions, with no requirement to get the other parent’s opinion or even inform them of decisions that have been made about their child. This is not the most common type of custody, as the courts assume that it is in the best interest of a child to have both their parents involved in their lives.
This type of custody is usually assigned only when there is some very good reason that one of the parents should not be allowed to make decisions for their child. This type of custody is separate from physical custody, though if a parent is considered unfit to make legal decisions for their child, it would be unusual for them to have physical custody.
Sole Physical Custody
With sole physical custody, the child lives with just one parent. The other parent may have no interaction with the child at all or may have visitation rights but not actual custody: i.e., the child does not live with them. It’s also possible for there to be sole physical custody but joint legal custody. In other words, the children live with one parent, but when it comes to major decisions about education, extracurricular activities, healthcare, and religious upbringing, both parents are make decisions.
Joint Custody
This is the most common outcome in South Carolina family courts because it is usually understood to be in the best interests of the child to have both parents as involved as possible in their lives. Because of the realities of geography and of life, it’s very common for one of the parents to be the primary custodian, which means the children live with them most of the time. This is usually because that parent has the family home, and it is least disruptive to the children for them to remain there, or because that parent is much closer to the children’s school or to other important family, such as grandparents and cousins. In these cases, the other parent is referred to as the secondary custodian. Typically in these cases, the two parents must consult on all major decision decisions for the children, but if there is a disagreement on what to do, the primary custodian has the final say.
Shared Custody
Shared custody is a true 50-50 arrangement where the two parents have almost equal parenting time and can get along amicably together. Shared custody is usually the best choice when the parents are equally active in their children’s lives and live close enough together that it would not be highly disruptive to the children and their schedules to be moving back and forth. The court may or may not designate one of the parents as the primary custodian for the purpose of making decisions when the parents can’t agree, but it’s also common for there to be no primary decision-maker in these situations. Instead, the parents are expected to make joint decisions, just as they did before their divorce.
Split Custody
Finally, it is possible to have what’s known as split custody. This is fairly rare, but in this situation one parent has primary custody of some of the children while the other parent has primary custody of the others. This is usually only considered in cases where there is a great age disparity between the siblings, so that they are not very close and haven’t really lived their lives together to begin with, or in situations where one of the siblings has been abusive or threatening towards a younger sibling.
How the Court Makes Decisions
Under South Carolina law, the courts must do what is in the best interests of the child. There is some degree of discretion for the courts in this, but there are also some factors that the courts are required to consider. There are also some factors they are not required to consider. Most importantly, what’s in the best interests of the child is not necessarily what’s in the best interests of their parents financially or personally. When it comes to child custody, that doesn’t matter. It’s the child’s interests that are important here.
The law requires parents to consider first what’s best for the child’s total well-being. This means not just their physical needs but also their emotional and developmental needs. This means the court is interested in who can provide the best stability for the children and the most nurturing environment. To determine this, the court will look at what the parents are doing now and the history of their caregiving. Another important factor is the bond that each parent has (or does not have) with their children. The court looks to see how attached the children are to each parent and the quality of the interactions parents have with their child.
Obviously, if there is any abuse or neglect, this will be very seriously considered by the court as they make decisions. The court will also look at the general behavior of the parents themselves, even if that is not behavior directed at the children specifically. If there is drug abuse, for example, this would be a serious consideration. Additionally, the court will ask the child what they prefer if they are old enough to give a mature opinion, but this is not the sole determining factor.
There are a few other factors which the court isn’t required to consider but may still influence their decision. For example, the court will look at how the parents have behaved during the process of getting divorced. If one parent has been trying to destroy the other parent’s relationship with their children, this will weigh very heavily against that parent. The court also wants to see how well the parents can work together and put aside their own personal preferences and needs to prioritize their children.
Get Help from a Local Child Custody Attorney in South Carolina
Whether you need help proving that your children need to be protected from their other parent, need to defend your own right to be involved in your children’s lives, or you want to hammer out a support and custody agreement with the other parent that works for your family and will be acceptable to the courts, we can help.
