Legal Question in Family Law in South Carolina

My sister is in a relationship that is not good for her or her kids. She has been living with him for numerous years and has one child with him. She has 2 other girls from a previous relationship. He is abusive to her and her other kids that aren't his. He abuses pain medications and does drugs. She recently charged him with kidnapping when he took the one girl they have together, they were not married at this time. He got a lawyer and so did she, the kidnapping charges got dropped for some reason & I think he was awarded emergency custody. They never went to their court date bc they decided to drop the case and got married. Now they are having problems again. Him and his mom locked my sister out of their house and abused my niece, the one that has a different father. Cops were called and she was allowed back into the home. The husbands mother attacked my sister, knocked her across the head and broke her foot. She went to doc and has a mild concussion and broke foot. He is going to a lawyer again, but he took their daughter and will not let my sister see her. What can my sister do? They won't let her back into the house. She cannot afford an attorney and is afraid they will try to get her with abandonement but she wants her daughter away from him but she cannot get her. And she doesn't know if she is allowed to take her bc of the emergency custody thing. What can I do as her sister to help if she is not stable enough or have the chance of getting custody of the one girl and is at risk of the other two being taken away?


Asked on 1/23/10, 11:02 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Ben Stevens The Stevens Firm, P.A. Family Law Center

Your sister needs to find and hire the best attorney that she can afford. If she is unrepresented in this case, it is likely that she will get steamrolled again.

These are complex issues, and it is important that they be handled correctly. Therefore, it is important that your sister consult an experienced family law attorney to find out what options are available to her based on the facts of her particular case.

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

Ben Stevens

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Answered on 1/28/10, 1:42 pm


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