Legal Question in Family Law in South Carolina

This is regarding a child custody case in Charleston, South Carolina. My daughter is 13 years old and is currently residing with my mother/her grandmother (who has residential custody of my daughter) and has been since she was 4 years old. My ex (my daughter's mother) and I have joint custody as ordered by the court but my mother has been constant with alienating us from our child, i.e., preventing phone calls, blatantly disobeying court orders, belittling us in front of our child, etc and has also been neglectful/abusive with our daughter and our daughter has told us on numerous occasions that she is afraid of her grandmother . My mother has my daughter in counseling by a licensed psychologist in Charleston and my daughter's mother and I sent numerous letters to the psychologist requesting our daughter's psychological records with a reference to South Carolina law code 63-5-30. We just received a letter from the psychologist in response to our request, the psychologist stated that under the same code, psychological records are excluded from the protected rights of parents. So my question is, is this true? and what can be done about this? Any extra advice would be greatly appreciated.


Asked on 7/19/12, 1:43 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Barbara Strowd Barbara A. Strowd, Attorney at Law

The situation you have outlined is complicated and I will first recommend that you meet with a local attorney to discuss your case. Now I will give you some general answers. It sounds as though you and your ex have custody of your daughter. If that is correct then why don't you go get her and have her live with you? It sounds like she is not happy at your mother's home. If you have the means then go pick her up. I do not know why the psychologist is not communicating with you. They have to keep their client's records confidential and the client is your daughter. You may want to provide the counselor with a copy of your custody order. Your mother does not even have the right to put your daughter into counseling if she does not have custody. Try providing a copy of the custody order to the counselor. Please seek the advice of a local attorney.

Read more
Answered on 8/16/12, 6:59 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Family Law, Divorce, Child Custody and Adoption questions and answers in South Carolina