Gregory S. Forman, P.C.

09/03/2026

First new blog in a while.

Often, in the midst of family law litigation, one party will issue discovery requests that the other party perceives of as excessive—essentially a fishing expedition. While I think it misguided, the trend among family law judges is that if someone’s word processor can spit it out, and it could i...

08/12/2026

First new blog in months.

05/30/2026

If my colleagues are going to make roundhouse punch allegations in their pleadings, I am going to counter with nut up or shut up discovery.

Perhaps I am mellowing in my old age. Perhaps younger attorneys are simply more enamored of roundhouse punch allegations than I am comfortable with. But I increasingly see complaints or counterclaims with broad and wild allegations that I am pretty sure the other side cannot prove (even if they migh...

05/30/2026

I understand why clients think I should "advocate" for them by excusing their misbehavior. But they aren't thinking like a family court judge thinks.

Parents caught violating child custody restraints they find stupid or minor often question why I won’t advocate the position that their violation should be excused because the restraint is stupid or pointless.  This blog explains why. Let’s say you have a child custody order that was the result...

05/14/2026

The second of two South Carolina opinions published on May 13, 2026, that address family law issues without being family court appeals.

On May 13, 2026, the South Carolina Court of Appeals, in the case of Major v. Major, held that the magistrate courts have jurisdiction to hear spouses’ requests for restraining orders. In Major, Wife sought a restraining order in magistrate court against Husband pursuant to section 16-3-1750 of th...

05/14/2026

We now have a definitive answer on the admissibility of pe**le plethysmograph tests in South Carolina court proceedings: they are not.

In 2024, the South Carolina Court of Appeals, in the case of In the Matter of Shawn T. Daily, 443 S.C. 557, 905 S.E.2d 310 (Ct. App. 2024), held that the results of a pe**le plethysmograph (PPG) test are inadmissible as unreliable.  Blogging about Daily at the time, I noted that such tests were oft...

05/03/2026

You might think you want a fighter. A lot of the time you are better off with a negotiator with trial skills.

A sizable portion of folks contacting my office seeking representation are seeking an attorney who is “a fighter.” They will often use canine descriptions—pitbull or bulldog—to describe the style of attorney they seek. While I certainly believe myself capable of fighting (in the litigation s...

05/01/2026

The Supreme Court just doubled the time period to file post-trial motions.

On April 30, 2026, rule changes proposed by the South Carolina Supreme Court went into effect. These rule changes extend the deadline to file post-trial motions under numerous South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure from ten days after receiving written notice of the entry of the judgment to twenty....

04/28/2026

Better I punch my clients than a judge punches my clients...

But it's still very stressful.

Discussing a braggadocios future opponent’s ideas on how to he was going to defeat the heretofore undefeated Mike Tyson, Tyson noted, “everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.” Tyson’s point was that people can plan for things they have never encountered (in this case Mike Ty...

04/25/2026

I don't know why attorneys file actions to ratify a satisfactory custody/visitation status quo. The status quo never gets better on custody or visitation. It can get better on child support but anyone who brings a custody case in order to do better on child support is a fool. The cost is extreme and the benefit is limited.

I regularly hear from potential clients who want to seek or modify custody when they are happy with the actual status quo on custodial time. These potential clients either do not have a custody order or are living under a custody order that grants them less time or control than they are actually exe...