By Anonymous July 31, 2014
A genuinely nice person and competent attorney. I trusted her from the moment we met. I got everything I wanted and more at a reasonable cost. ...read more
By Charlie Woodside at Citysearch September 20, 2011
I started my process of divorce looking for a good lawyer because people told me that a lawyer was REQUIRED. Obviously lizzi law is the most affordable. I thought that any lawyer would do the same job. I was wrong, and if you believe the same do not make the same mistake. I paid my $1200 and they told me everything was fine and that they would start working on my case. They asked for an agreement between the two of us, so we made one. 5 months later they told me that the court was in3 months.. (8 months ok) however; I was happy that my divorce was ready. the court day was only to legalize the agreement already notarized between my ex and I. so I ask the lawyer about the date of my divorce and he replied that I HAD TO PAY $600 MORE. Here's a list of the benefits:\t\n-They never answer your emails, they don ...read more
By Anonymous August 19, 2009
Guy Vitetta and Vitetta Law Group are very unique among attorneys in how they approach relationships with clients. They don't assume that everyone needs the same approach and they don't just tell you want to hear. They are straightforward, honest and caring. ...read more
Divorce is painful. The dissolution of a marriage can put both spouses on an emotional rollercoaster. Additionally, these troubled times can have a ripple effect impacting not only the family, but everyone who interacts with them – friend, colleagues, and business contacts. When we read about the conflicts of prominent citizens in the paper, such as the articles on Gedney Howe's divorce featured in last Saturday's Post&Courier; and subsequent letters to the editor, the ripple extends to the whole community. Divorce is the result of many problems, one of which is the common problem of our inability to resolve conflicts. American culture emphasizes quick fixes, glorification of violence and a love of litigation (a good fight). It does much to promote conflict and is much "quieter" about promoting honest communication and problem solving. True conflict resolution requires the often difficult and time consuming work of understanding the heart of a conflict and resolving it from the inside out. The stresses that cause family conflict are numerous and are often exacerbated by lack of communication and lack of problem solving skills. One need only read one or two issues of the Post&Courier to find numerous illustrations of family conflicts that have spilled out of personal relationships into the public arena. These conflicts are often being resolved by the criminal or family courts. Without effective problem solving and communication skills, many disputes lead to domestic violence. According to an article in the Post and Courier last Saturday, 2006 saw more than 300 crimes related to domestic violence in Charleston County. When it comes to the conflicts involved in divorce and related matters, couples have choices to make for their families. Within this confusing and difficult time, there are opportunities to increase or decrease the conflict. The Collaborative Law process reduces conflict and its ripple effect. In addition, trained attorneys are modeling and teaching clients skills for addressing family conflict. These skills help clients throughout the divorce process and beyond it. Those involved in the collaborative process are always mindful of the fact that the family will remain a family after the divorce, regardless of their living arrangements and the distribution of their material possessions. Collaborative Law is a form of dispute resolution which is non-adversarial and non-litigious. It is similar to mediation in these ways, but is specifically designed to help meet the future needs of divorcing families as well. In the article about the use of mediation as it related to the Howe's divorce, we learned about Mark Andrews' use of "shuttle diplomacy". The need to keep clients in separate rooms points out a couple of ways that mediation can fall short. One is that mediation is often resorted to after couples have been to Family Court and either run low on money for the fight, or have been ordered to mediation by the Court. The tensions most likely have increased by their visit to the Court – it is costing them time and money in addition to emotional stress. Therefore, when they get to mediation they have to be kept separate. The other problem with this kind of mediation is that the parties must leave all the communication to the mediator. Unlike court appointed mediation where both parties have already retained trial counsel and may be hardened in their expectations and demands, in Collaborative Law, both parties and their respective collaborative lawyers meet in a confidential setting and work together in a mature way to settle all issues. Attorneys are trained to facilitate discussion, encourage communication, and model problem solving skills. Sometimes therapists, family counselors, and financial consultants, also trained in the collaborative process, assist the parties reaching an agreement. An additional benefit of a Collaborative Law process is discretion—keeping private business in a divorce private. The Howe's divorce is a perfect example of very private matters made available for public scrutiny and our culture fosters this approach. But most of us would prefer to keep our personal business to ourselves. In Collaborative Law, there is no court involvement until the couple has resolved all of their issues, then only generic pleadings are filed requesting court approval of their settlement agreement. Attorneys are in a unique position and have a responsibility to reduce conflict while increasing civilized communication. Not only can we help our clients resolve their immediate legal problems, we can perform a service to our community by showing that family conflict does not have to result in completely broken relationships and public airing of personal issues. Through the Collaborative Law process, clients develop the confidence to know that they can resolve their problems in any future conflict by using the problem solving skills that have been modeled for them and which they have used in their divorce process. While no divorce is easy, Collaborative Law is financially and emotionally efficient. The Collaborative process can greatly decrease the emotional stress on the family and empowers participants with life-long communication skills and strategies to handle future issues before they escalate into conflict. Families using collaborative divorce often report better relationships after the divorce than before. As an attorney, that is a result which gives me great satisfaction. ...read more
By Vitetta Guy Atty August 19, 2009
Regardless of the type of divorce process you choose to use, it is important to identify your marital estate. The marital estate is defined by the South Carolina Equitable Apportionment Statute and generally comprises all assets and debts acquired by either party during the marriage, regardless of title. As you can guess, there are numerous exceptions to this rule, so discuss this issue carefully with your attorney. For starters, however, you should begin to gather the following information, regardless of how it was obtained or who obtained it, as long as it was obtained during the marriage. Gather information on an asset used during the marriage, regardless of when it was obtained. An example of an "asset" would be your residence, a car, a boat, a valuable piece of artwork, a retirement account, or an investment account. An asset is anything that is worth money! Don't worry about loans on the assets (such as your mortgage or a car loan), because you will be listing all of these debts separately. The result will be your "net" marital estate. Here is a brief checklist to help guide you with this process. It is by no means a comprehensive list, so anticipate that your attorney will need more information, but it is a good starting place. Income/ Assets: • Income tax returns for the previous five years • Retirement account statements; one from the date of marriage, one current. • Estimated valuation of all real estate acquired during the marriage • Estimated value of the marital residence, if owned • Statements from current investment accounts • Statements from college savings accounts for minor children • Estimated (Blue Book) value of all automobiles • Itemization of all valuable artwork, jewelry, etc. with estimate of values • Copies of all trusts • Copies of all whole life insurance policies or annuities • Recent statements from whole life and annuity policies • Copies of all corporate papers; Sub S Corp's, LLC's etc. Debts • Current credit card statements • Current mortgage balances (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc….) • Automobile loans • Promissory notes • Student loans • Secured loans • Other debts and obligations (unsecured) In complicated cases, a financial professional is helpful to assist in establishing the value of the marital estate. In the more straightforward cases, you and your lawyer can establish the values using and Excell or Numbers spreadsheet, or just a pencil and paper! The bottom line is that you want to identify everything that was obtained during the marriage, or used as marital property during the marriage regardless of how it was obtained. HOT TIP: You will also want to have this information very well organized for your attorney or financial professional. You pay these people by the hour, so the less time they need to spend organizing your financial matters, the less money you will pay for this service! ...read more
By Vitetta Guy Atty August 19, 2009
One of the most common questions I get when I first meet with a person considering divorce or separation concerns alimony. It is natural to wonder early on in a divorce process what kind of alimony obligation there might be. However, it is one of the more complicated aspects of Family Law, which makes this common question difficult to answer. In this article I give an overview of the topic of alimony and some examples of why negotiation of alimony issues is serious business. SC Law In South Carolina, the Code of Laws requires the Courts to consider thirteen separate factors in choosing to award alimony, how much to award and the length of the obligation. The law does not address any of these issues specifically. Factors to be considered include the length of the marriage, the disparity of earnings between the parties, future earnings potential of each party, the education levels attained by the parties, mental or physical health issues and marital misconduct or "fault". The statute is gender neutral so, in South Carolina, women and men are equally eligible to participate in paying or receiving alimony. South Carolina is Liberal on Alimony South Carolina is known as a "liberal" alimony state, meaning that it is one of a few states where a person can be obligated to pay a generous amount of alimony on a permanent basis. The law reflects the notion that a person has a moral, ethical and legal responsibility to support their spouse. A South Carolina Family Court Judge will generally not be reversed on appeal for giving too much alimony for too long, but he or she will more likely be reversed for awarding alimony that is insufficient in amount and duration. How Much for How Long? In South Carolina, alimony can be awarded in different ways depending on the specific circumstances of the parties. Alimony awards can be permanent/periodic, lump sum or rehabilitative, taxable and non-taxable in nature. There is no definitive mathematical formula used to determine the amount of an alimony award. Several computer programs are helpful in analyzing alimony obligations (I rely on one myself), but none are determinative. One way to get a general understanding of an alimony obligation is to determine the monthly living expenses for the spouse with the smaller income. If the after-tax income of that spouse leaves them short of their reasonable monthly living expenses, then a Court will likely seek to make up the difference or even balance the incomes with funds from the spouse with the greater income. Similarly, the law does not specify criteria to determine the duration of an alimony obligation. A marriage of 12 to 15 years very often results in a permanent alimony obligation in South Carolina, but not necessarily (providing, of course, that an obligation exists in the first place). Legal authority exists in South Carolina for a permanent alimony award resulting from a marriage of only one year! Permanent alimony can only end upon the death of either spouse or upon the re-marriage or co-habitation of the supported spouse. Can it be Modified? Alimony is always modifiable if it is awarded on a permanent basis, but only upon a showing that there exists a substantial change in circumstances. Our courts have ruled that a 20% increase in income by former husband did not support the former wife's request for increase in her monthly award. An issue that is becoming increasingly common with the aging of baby boomers is the extension of alimony obligations into retirement years. It is important to understand that retirement will not necessarily suffice as a change in circumstance to warrant a decrease in alimony. Each request for modification of alimony will turn on the facts specific to the parties involved. Can it be Avoided? The only absolute prohibition to an alimony award is if the spouse requesting alimony has committed adultery. Other forms of fault, such as physical cruelty, habitual alcoholism and abandonment will not necessarily bar alimony, but may effect the amount or duration of the award, up or down, depending on where the fault is placed. The Bottom Line At the risk of sounding self-serving, my advice is to always negotiate alimony with the assistance of a qualified family law attorney. I have worked with several clients who previously paid a huge price as a result of negotiating on their own or going along with advice they did not understand. The financial exposure can be overwhelming. Given the complicated nature of most couples' financial lives, it is simply too risky to negotiate alimony without sound legal advice. ...read more
By Vitetta Guy Atty August 19, 2009
It is easy to think that a final divorce decree and associated custody awards are the final answer in a given case. However, many divorce decrees are modified after the original order is written. In most juridictions an attorney can file a petition for modification of a divorce decree any time after t... ...read more
Choosing the right divorce lawyer is extremely important. Not all divorces are easy and you should have someone representing you that you can trust. Taking the time to find the right divorce lawyer can mean all the difference in the end result. ...read more