This issue was brought to my attention by Settlyd member and attorney Melissa Smith in Greenville. Thank you Melissa!

In December of 2022 H 3481 was pre-filed in the SC House.  H 3481 is a dramatic realignment of our current custody rules that presumes a 50-50 parenting plan is inherently in the best interests of the minor child(ren.)

Twenty states currently provide about equal parenting time, and South Carolina is not one of them.  H 3481 revises 16-15-220 and 240 in a couple of fundamental ways.

First it requires a "...rebuttable presumption that a time-sharing schedule of approximately equal allocation of parenting time to each parent is in the best interest of the child..."  This is completely at odds with our current standard, where our courts presume sole custody to be in the best interests of the child(ren.)  But our current standard may be a bit outdated (no, not in South Carolina!). Many of us put a great deal of care into crafting parenting plans, with concern being placed solely on what's best for the kids. With most families having two full time working parents, South Carolina's sole custody preference with alternate weekend visitation seems like a rule out of the 1950's.

Next, should a court decline to award equal parenting time, it must issue specific findings of fact stating why it had so ruled.  This is a great opportunity for trial lawyers to perfect the record by submitting clear and precise testimony (or affidavits) supporting their claims.

Finally, the proposed legislation will require the court to consider "...the frequency with which a parent would be likely to leave the child in the care of a nonrelative on evenings and weekends when the other parent would be available and willing to provide care...".  We see this a lot and I am glad this provision has been added to the proposed rule.  Sometimes a parent simply cannot do a 50-50 schedule due to work, and will have a third party caretaker cover for them.  If the other parent is available to care for the kids, in my opinion, it's really better for the kids to be in the care of a parent whenever possible.

H 3481 was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary on January 10, 2023.  It currently has 60 co-sponsors.  Perhaps a call to your local representative is in order?

Guy Vitetta

Charleston SC