Legal Question in Family Law in South Carolina

family law

How many rights does a father have to a child? What rights does a mother have? What is done when a father goes for visitation rights and his name to be put on the birth certificate, including the child getting its named changed to having the fathers last name? What will a judge look at or take into consideraton more? If the father has never really been there, only when he wanted to be, and the mother has been there since day one, what will the judge more than likely do? The father has a police record and the mother does not. What would a judge decide would be in the best interest?


Asked on 5/14/08, 9:23 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Ben Stevens The Stevens Firm, P.A. Family Law Center

Re: family law

Child custody cases are extremely complex. Both fathers and mothers have an equal opportunity to be awarded custody of the child, but the person's chances can be increased or decreased depending on what he / she has / hasn't done for the child.

The main thing the Court looks at is who has been the child's primary caretaker. However, decisions in custody cases are based on many, many factors that vary from case to case, so it's almost impossible to make a prediction about a person's chances without knowing much, much more information.

If you need more information, you can visit my family law blog (www.SCFamilyLaw.com) or our website (www.StevensFirm.com). I wish you the best of luck.

Ben Stevens

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Answered on 5/14/08, 9:55 pm


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