Legal Question in Family Law in South Carolina

My husband and I were married in 1995 and lived in Va until we separated in 2004. He abandoned my and my 4 children, leaving us pennyless. He moved to South CAROLINA where he filed for divorce 7 yrs later. After 2 yrs of back and forth stuff the divOrce was just rcently granted a vinculo matrimonii. I currently live in California with 3 of the 4 children. Back in 2005 a judge inVa ordered child support and I have been getting it (through a garnishment) all along. NONE of the child support is mentioned in the divorce order. As a matter of fact - Support "is not" ordered is what is on the final divorce decree. Does this affect my existing child support garnishment in Virginia which I currently have through DFAS?


Asked on 7/03/13, 8:12 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Barbara Strowd Barbara A. Strowd, Attorney at Law

I would need a bit more information to answer this question fully; however, I will try to be as thorough as possible. If only your husband moved to SC I am assuming that the custody of your children was not addressed in SC. If the custody of your children was covered in SC then the VA child support may be affected. As I said though, I doubt that SC discussed the custody of your children because the children did not live in SC so the SC Court would not have jurisdiction over your children. If SC did not address custody and the Order from VA was a Final or Permanent Order you should be fine. When you say "support is not ordered" is in divorce decree I am curious if that is inside the actual decree or on the form that is attached to the front of the decree. If on the form then you should not worry about that in your case unless your actual decree determines custody. For Example: In the divorce decree you have language similar to: "Mother shall have custody of the minor children. Father shall have visitation. Mother and Father agree that no child support shall be paid." Based upon your circumstances I doubt this is the case. If you want to be certain, you could scan your divorce decree and email it to me and I will look it over and let you know. My email address is [email protected]. Good luck!

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Answered on 7/12/13, 6:16 pm


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