Title 63, South Carolina Children's Code

A court of this State shall accord full faith and credit to an order issued by another state and consistent with this article which enforces a child custody determination by a court of another state unless the order has been vacated, stayed, or modified by a court having jurisdic…

An appeal may be taken from a final order in a proceeding under this subarticle in accordance with expedited appellate procedures in other civil cases. Unless the court enters a temporary emergency order under Section 63-15-336, the enforcing court may not stay an order enforcing…

(A) In a case arising under this article or involving the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, the prosecutor may take any lawful action, including resorting to a proceeding under this subarticle or any other available civil proceeding to locate…

At the request of a prosecutor acting under Section 63-15-378, a law enforcement officer may take any lawful action reasonably necessary to locate a child or a party and assist a prosecutor with responsibilities under Section 63-15-378.

If the respondent is not the prevailing party, the court may assess against the respondent all direct expenses and costs incurred by the prosecutor and law enforcement officers under Section 63-15-378 or 63-15-380.

In applying and construing this uniform act, consideration must be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.

If any provision of this article or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this article which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provision…

A motion or other request for relief made in a child custody proceeding or to enforce a child custody determination which was commenced before the effective date of this act is governed by the law in effect at the time the motion or other request was made.

(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 sexua…

In making decisions on guardianship, custody, or visitation where a party to the action is blind, the court may not deny the party guardianship, custody, or visitation of a child solely because the party is blind. The blindness of a party only must be used to determine whether or…

(A) When the Department of Social Services, a guardian, or a child placement agency considers an adoption petition, the department, guardian, or child placement agency may not deny the petition solely because the petitioner is blind. (B) In making a determination of adoption wher…

Within one year of the adoption of this act, the Department of Social Services shall promulgate regulations prohibiting a local department from removing a child from a home and placing the child in foster care solely because the child's parent or guardian is blind.

For purposes of this act, the term "blind" or "blindness" means: (A) vision that is 20/200 or less in the best corrected eye; or (B) vision that subtends an angle of not greater than twenty degrees in the best corrected eye.

(A) A court may award visitation to a person who has been found by a general sessions, magistrates, municipal, or family court to have committed domestic violence, as defined in Section 16-25-20 or Section 16-25-65, or in cases in which complaints were made against both parties, …

This chapter may be cited as the "Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act".

As used in this article: (1) "Adult" means an individual who is at least eighteen years of age or an emancipated minor. (2) "Caretaking authority" means the right to live with and care for a child on a day-to-day basis, including physical custody, parenting time, right to access,…

In addition to other relief provided by the law of this State, other than this article, if a court finds that a party to a proceeding under this article has acted in bad faith or intentionally failed to comply with this article or a court order issued pursuant to this article, th…

(A) A court may issue an order regarding custodial responsibility pursuant to this article only if the court has jurisdiction pursuant to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. If the court has issued a temporary order regarding custodial responsibility pursu…

(A) Except as provided in subsection (D), and subject to subsection (C), a deploying parent shall notify in a record the other parent of a pending deployment not later than seven days after receiving notice of deployment unless reasonably prevented from doing so by the circumstan…

(A) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (B), an individual to whom custodial responsibility has been assigned or granted during deployment pursuant to Subarticle 2 or 3 shall notify the deploying parent and any other individual with custodial responsibility of any change o…

In a proceeding for custodial responsibility of a child of a service member, a court may not consider a parent's past deployment or possible future deployment in itself in determining the best interest of the child but may consider any significant impact on the best interest of t…

(A) The parents of a child may enter into a temporary agreement granting custodial responsibility during deployment. (B) An agreement under subsection (A) must be: (1) in writing; and (2) signed by both parents and any nonparent to whom custodial responsibility is granted. (C) An…

(A) An agreement under this subarticle is temporary and terminates pursuant to Subarticle 4 following the return from deployment of the deployed parent, unless the agreement has been terminated before that time by court order or modification of the agreement pursuant to Section 6…

(A) The parents may modify an agreement regarding custodial responsibility made pursuant to this article by mutual consent. (B) If an agreement under subsection (A) is modified before deployment of a deploying parent, the modification must be in writing and signed by both parents…

If no other parent possesses custodial responsibility under the law of this State, other than this article, or if an existing court order prohibits contact between the child and the other parent, a deploying parent, by power of attorney, may delegate all or part of his or her cus…

An agreement or power of attorney made under this subarticle must be filed within a reasonable period of time with any court that has entered an existing order on custodial responsibility or child support concerning the child. The case number and heading of the existing case conc…

(A) After a deploying parent receives notice of deployment and during the deployment, a court may issue a temporary order granting custodial responsibility unless prohibited by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. Appx. Sections 521-522. A court may not issue a permanen…

If a motion to grant custodial responsibility is filed before a deploying parent deploys, the court shall conduct an expedited hearing.

In a proceeding brought pursuant to this subarticle, a party or witness who is not reasonably available to appear personally may appear and provide testimony and present evidence by electronic means unless the court finds good cause to require a personal appearance.

In a proceeding for a grant of custodial responsibility pursuant to this subarticle, the following rules apply: (1) A prior judicial order designating custodial responsibility of a child in the event of deployment is binding on the court unless the circumstances meet the requirem…

(A) On the motion of a deploying parent and in accordance with the law of this State other than this article, a court may grant caretaking authority of a child to a nonparent who is an adult family member of the child or an adult with whom the child has a close and substantial re…

On motion of a deploying parent and in accordance with the law of this State, other than this article, a court shall grant limited contact with a child to a nonparent who is either a family member of the child or an individual with whom the child has a close and substantial relat…

(A) A grant made pursuant to this subarticle is temporary and terminates pursuant to Subarticle 4 following the return from deployment of the deployed parent, unless the grant has been terminated before that time by court order. The grant does not create an independent, continuin…

(A) An order granting custodial responsibility pursuant to this article must: (1) designate the order as temporary; and (2) identify to the extent feasible the destination, duration, and conditions of the deployment. (B) If applicable, a temporary order for custodial responsibili…

If a court has issued an order providing for grant of caretaking authority pursuant to this subarticle or an agreement granting caretaking authority has been executed pursuant to Subarticle 2, the court may enter a temporary order for child support consistent with the law of this…

(A) Except for an order in accordance with Section 63-15-530, or as otherwise provided in subsection (B), and consistent with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. Appx. Sections 521-522, on motion of a deploying parent or other parent or any nonparent to whom caretaking…

(A) At any time following return from deployment, a temporary agreement granting custodial responsibility pursuant to Subarticle 2 may be terminated by an agreement to terminate signed by the deploying parent and the other parent. (B) The temporary agreement granting custodial re…

At any time following return from deployment, the deploying parent and the other parent may file with the court an agreement to terminate a temporary order for custodial responsibility issued pursuant to Subarticle 3. After an agreement has been filed, the court shall issue an or…

Following return from deployment of a deploying parent until a temporary agreement or order for custodial responsibility established pursuant to Subarticle 2 or 3 is terminated, the court shall enter a temporary order granting the deploying parent reasonable contact with the chil…

(A) A temporary order for custodial responsibility issued pursuant to Subarticle 3 shall terminate, if no agreement between the parties to terminate a temporary order for custodial responsibility has been filed, sixty days from the date of the deploying parent's giving notice of …

In applying and construing this uniform act, consideration must be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.

This article modifies, limits, and supersedes the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 7001, et seq., but does not modify, limit, or supersede Section 101(c) of that act, 15 U.S.C. Section 7001(c), or authorize electronic delivery o…

This article does not affect the validity of a temporary court order concerning custodial responsibility during deployment that was entered before the effective date of this article.

(A) For purposes of this section, "de facto custodian" means, unless the context requires otherwise, a person who has been shown by clear and convincing evidence to have been the primary caregiver for and financial supporter of a child who: (1) has resided with the person for a p…

As used in this article: (1) "Abduction" means the wrongful removal or wrongful retention of a child. (2) "Child" means an unemancipated individual who is less than eighteen years of age. (3) "Child-custody determination" means a judgment, decree, or other order of a court provid…

A court of this State shall treat a foreign country as it if were a state of the United States for the purpose of applying this article if its child-custody determination was made under factual circumstances in substantial conformity with the jurisdictional standards of this arti…