Custody in South Carolina.

Decisions against where the child lives

South Carolina does not use the legal/physical split. Under S.C. Code § 63-15-210, "'Joint custody' means both parents have equal rights and responsibilities for major decisions concerning the child, including the child's education, medical and dental care, extracurricular activities, and religious training; however, a judge may designate one parent to have sole authority to make specific, identified decisions while both parents retain equal rights and responsibilities for all other decisions." "Sole custody" means one person has "the rights and responsibilities for major decisions concerning the child." Time is handled separately: § 63-15-230(D) provides that "Notwithstanding the custody determination, the court may allocate parenting time in the best interest of the child." So in South Carolina the custody label is about decisions and the schedule is a distinct question — winning joint custody tells you nothing about how many nights you get. Where joint custody is awarded, § 63-15-240(A)(3) requires the order to include residential arrangements "in accordance with the needs of each child" and to spell out how consultations and communications between the parents will happen. Regardless of the arrangement, § 63-15-260 gives each parent "equal access and the same right to obtain all educational records and medical records" and to participate in school and public extracurricular activities.

What the judge must weigh

(B) In issuing or modifying a custody order, the court must consider the best interest of the child, which may include, but is not limited to:

1. (1) the temperament and developmental needs of the child;
2. (2) the capacity and the disposition of the parents to understand and meet the needs of the child;
3. (3) the preferences of each child;
4. (4) the wishes of the parents as to custody;
5. (5) the past and current interaction and relationship of the child with each parent, the child's siblings, and any other person, including a grandparent, who may significantly affect the best interest of the child;
6. (6) the actions of each parent to encourage the continuing parent-child relationship between the child and the other parent, as is appropriate, including compliance with court orders;
7. (7) the manipulation by or coercive behavior of the parents in an effort to involve the child in the parents' dispute;
8. (8) any effort by one parent to disparage the other parent in front of the child;
9. (9) the ability of each parent to be actively involved in the life of the child;
10. (10) the child's adjustment to his or her home, school, and community environments;
11. (11) the stability of the child's existing and proposed residences;
12. (12) the mental and physical health of all individuals involved, except that a disability of a proposed custodial parent or other party, in and of itself, must not be determinative of custody unless the proposed custodial arrangement is not in the best interest of the child;
13. (13) the child's cultural and spiritual background;
14. (14) whether the child or a sibling of the child has been abused or neglected;
15. (15) whether one parent has perpetrated domestic violence or child abuse or the effect on the child of the actions of an abuser if any domestic violence has occurred between the parents or between a parent and another individual or between the parent and the child;
16. (16) whether one parent has relocated more than one hundred miles from the child's primary residence in the past year, unless the parent relocated for safety reasons; and
17. (17) other factors as the court considers necessary.

What the child wants

There is no age. S.C. Code § 63-15-30: "In determining the best interests of the child, the court must consider the child's reasonable preference for custody. The court shall place weight upon the preference based upon the child's age, experience, maturity, judgment, and ability to express a preference." Note the word "must" — considering a reasonable preference is mandatory — but the weight is sliding and depends on those five qualities, not on a birthday. The child's preferences also appear again as factor (3) in § 63-15-240(B).

Where there has been violence or abuse

South Carolina requires weight rather than creating a presumption. Section 63-15-40(A): "In making a decision regarding custody of a minor child, in addition to other existing factors specified by law, the court must give weight to evidence of domestic violence as defined in Section 16-25-20 or Section 16-25-65 including, but not limited to: (1) physical or sexual abuse; and (2) if appropriate, evidence of which party was the primary aggressor, as defined in Section 16-25-70." A crucial protection for survivors is § 63-15-40(B): "The absence or relocation from the home by a person, against whom an act of domestic violence has been perpetrated, if that person is not the primary aggressor, must not be considered by the court to be sufficient cause, absent other factors, to deny custody of the minor child to that person." On visitation, § 63-15-50(A) permits an award to a person found to have committed domestic violence, or found to be the primary aggressor where both parties complained, "only if the court finds that adequate provision for the safety of the child and the victim of domestic violence can be made." The court's toolkit under § 63-15-50(B) includes exchanges in a protected setting, supervised visitation, completion of a batterer intervention program, abstaining from alcohol or controlled substances during and for 24 hours before visitation, no overnight visitation, and a bond for the child's return where there has been a threat to retain the child. Under § 63-15-50(E) the court may order the address of the child and the victim kept confidential, and under § 63-15-50(F) it must order the abuser to pay the actual cost of medical or psychological treatment for a child injured as a result of the violence.

The parenting plan

Yes, and earlier than most parents expect — at the temporary hearing. Section 63-15-220(A): "At all temporary hearings where custody is contested, each parent must prepare, file, and submit to the court a parenting plan, which reflects parental preferences, the allocation of parenting time to be spent with each parent, and major decisions, including, but not limited to, the child's education, medical and dental care, extracurricular activities and religious training." Parties may instead file a joint plan. The court "shall issue temporary and final custody orders only after considering these parenting plans; however, the failure by a party to submit a parenting plan… does not preclude the court from issuing a temporary or final custody order" — in other words, if you do not file one, the case proceeds without your input. Under § 63-15-220(B) either party may file an updated plan at the final hearing, and § 63-15-220(C) directs the South Carolina Supreme Court to develop rules and forms for implementation. Temporary hearings in South Carolina come fast and are often decided largely on affidavits, so prepare the plan early.

Mediation

Yes. Under South Carolina's ADR Rules, "all contested issues in domestic relations actions filed in family court, except for cases set forth in Rule 3(b) or (c), are subject to court-ordered mediation under these rules." ADR Rule 1(a) confirms these rules govern court-annexed ADR in South Carolina Family Courts in domestic relations actions "in all counties in South Carolina." Parties may agree to arbitration or early neutral evaluation instead of mediation, may select their own neutral, and may go to ADR at any time. Exemptions exist — they include family court cases initiated by the Department of Social Services and cases previously subjected to an ADR conference — and, importantly for safety, "A party may file a motion to exempt a case from ADR for case specific reasons. For good cause, the Chief Judge for Administrative Purposes of the circuit may grant the motion." We did not find an automatic domestic violence exemption in the rules we read; if there has been abuse, file that motion to exempt, or at minimum ask for separate sessions, and raise it early. https://www.sccourts.org/courtReg/displayRule.cfm?ruleID=1.0&subRuleID=&ruleType=ADR

If the court appoints someone to look into it

South Carolina restricts guardian ad litem appointments more than most states. Section 63-3-810(A): in a private family court action where custody or visitation is at issue, "the court may appoint a guardian ad litem only when it determines that: (1) without a guardian ad litem, the court will likely not be fully informed about the facts of the case and there is a substantial dispute which necessitates a guardian ad litem; or (2) both parties consent to the appointment." A guardian ad litem may be an attorney or a layperson, must be at least twenty-five years old (§ 63-3-820), and — unusually — under § 63-3-840 "must not mediate, attempt to mediate, or act as a mediator in a case to which he has been appointed." On who pays: § 63-3-850(A) requires that at the time of appointment "the family court judge must set forth the method and rate of compensation… including an initial authorization of a fee," and the guardian must give notice to both parties and get the judge's written authorization or both parties' consent before exceeding it. In assessing reasonableness the court weighs the complexity of the issues, the contentiousness of the litigation, time expended, expenses, "the financial ability of each party to pay fees and costs," and any other factors. The guardian must send itemized billing statements to the parties on a schedule set by the court, and under § 63-3-850(D) "At any time during the action, a party may petition the court to review the reasonableness of the fees and costs." Use that — the cost is meant to be visible and challengeable as you go. https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t63c003.php

If you were never married

S.C. Code § 63-17-20(B) is the rule that catches unmarried fathers: "Unless the court orders otherwise, the custody of an illegitimate child is solely in the natural mother unless the mother has relinquished her rights to the child. If paternity has been acknowledged or adjudicated, the father may petition the court for rights of visitation or custody in a proceeding before the court apart from an action to establish paternity." (The statute's language is dated, but it is the operative text.) So paternity comes first — acknowledged or adjudicated — and then custody or visitation is a separate petition. Until a court orders otherwise, the mother has sole custody by default. Note also § 63-15-60, South Carolina's "de facto custodian" provision: a person who has been the primary caregiver and financial supporter for six months (child under three) or one year (child three or older) can, on clear and convincing evidence, gain standing to seek custody or visitation — which matters in blended families and where grandparents have been raising the child. https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t63c017.php