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Marie-Louise RamsdaleRamsdale Law FirmMarie-Louise Ramsdale is the principal lawyer of the Ramsdale Family Law firm in Mount Pleasant,South Carolina, and practices solely in the area of family law. She has served as President of theSouth Carolina Bar Foundation and as a member of numerous committees of the SC Bar. MarieLouise holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell.Marie-Louise was the volunteer attorney-coach for the Moultrie Middle School Mock Trial Teamfrom 2012 to 2016, taking the team to first place in the State competition in 2016. She presently cocoaches the Wando High School Mock Trial Team. She is also working to address mental healthissues for members of our profession through the Charleston County Bar and is excited to be thefinance chair for a winning SC Governor's race this fall! In her (occasional) downtime she tries toparent two teenagers and, when that fails, resorts to power yoga and naps.Chris PatonChris Paton LLCChris began his legal career serving as law clerk to Circuit Judge Joseph M. McLaughlin of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and District Judge Raymond J. Dearie of theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He also worked as an associate atCleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, LLP, and Rosen Law Firm, LLC before starting Paton Law Firm.Chris is "AV" rated by Martindale-Hubbell and is a member and former Chair of the Family LawSection Council of the South Carolina Bar. Chris devotes his practice primarily to family law with afocus on appeals. He lives in Folly Beach with his wife Laura Paton, also an attorney, and their twodaughters.Taylor LongQDRO ProfessionalsTaylor was born and raised in Greenwood, South Carolina. She graduated from the University ofSouth Carolina, in 2006, with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with a dual focus onMarketing and Management.She moved to Charleston, South Carolina, where she attended the Charleston School of Law. Whilein law school, Taylor was an active member of the Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity, the Real EstateSociety, Children's Rights and Family Law Society, and Women in Law Society. Taylor was honoredby receiving the CALI Excellence for the Future award in the study of Criminal Trial Practice. Aftergraduating from law school in 2009, Taylor worked as an associate for the Law Office of Paul E.Tinkler. Taylor opened her own practice in March of 2015 focusing on Family Law, MilitaryDivorce, Estate Planning, and QDROs.Taylor is a member of the South Carolina Bar and Charleston County Bar and is licensed to practicein the Federal District Court of South Carolina and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. She is amember of the National Trial Lawyers Association and was awarded the "Top 40 Under 40," in2012. Taylor is also a member of the South Carolina Association for Justice, National Women TrialLawyers, American Bar Association, and Charleston Cooperative Family Law Association.Since being admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 2010, Taylor has practiced almost exclusively in

the Family Courts of South Carolina. She established QDRO Professionals, LLC in 2013, which offersan all-inclusive service assisting attorneys and clients with the intricacies of Qualified DomesticRelations Orders. In addition to her active litigation practice, Taylor is also a certified Family CourtMediator and acts as a Guardian ad Litem in private custody matters.Taylor resides in James Island with her husband, Kyle, her daughter, Henley, and her two dogs. Inher free time, she enjoys serving as a chair member for the Cinderella Project of Charleston andspending time with her family on the beach or the boat.Mary Fran QuindlenQuindlen Law Firm, P.A.Mary Fran Quindlen holds two bachelor's degrees in History and English from Rutgers University.She received her law degree from the University of South Carolina in 1998, where she was amember of Women in Law and the Phi Alpha Delta Fraternity. Following her admission to theSouth Carolina Bar, Mary Fran practiced as a Marine Corps Judge Advocate serving as a LegalAssistance Attorney and Defense Counsel. She continued to serve in the United States Marine CorpsReserve until May of 2006 when she resigned her commission as a Major. After her release fromactive duty in 2002, Mary Fran became an Associate at Harvey & Battey, P.A. in Beaufort, SouthCarolina. She worked as their family law practitioner until 2005 when she opened her own practicein Beaufort. Mary Fran's practice is concentrated in the areas of Military and Family Law, to includecustody, visitation and divorce. Mary Fran is a Fellow in the American Academy of MatrimonialLawyers, the International Academy of Family Lawyers, is a Member of the South Carolina FamilyLaw Council, and serves on the South Carolina Bar's Fee Dispute Resolution Board. Mary Fran hasbeen qualified as an expert in South Carolina Family Courts regarding military matters related todivorce and she teaches military family law CLE's around the country.Jessica ChristophillisChristophillis & Gallivan, P.A.Jessica Christophillis practices family law in Greenville, South Carolina and the in Upstate of SouthCarolina. Jessica attended the University of South Carolina where she earned her B.S. in accounting(2005) and her J.D. (2008). After law school, Jessica attended Northwestern University in Chicagoearning her L.L.M in taxation. Jessica practices family law at the firm Christophillis & Gallivan. Shehas been recognized through peer nomination in the Greenville Business Magazine Legal Elite andhas been rated as AV Preeminent and Client Champion by Martindale-Hubbell. Jessica has beenlisted as a Rising Star in South Carolina Super Lawyers. Jessica is a certified family court mediatorand enjoys volunteer work with the Upstate Mediation Center. Above all of these roles anddistinctions, Jessica is most proud of her role as mom to her four-year-old twin boys and wife to herhusband Cory.Sean P. MarkhamMarkham Law Firm, LLCSean Markham is certified by the South Carolina Supreme Court as a specialist in bankruptcy anddebtor-creditor law as well as a circuit court mediator. Sean handles a wide range of business andconsumer insolvency matters throughout the state of South Carolina. Representations include

bankruptcy matters, collections, settlement negotiations, and other matters related todebtor/creditor law. Sean is a graduate of ECU and was a member of the first graduating class ofthe Charleston School of Law. He is licenses in both North and South Carolina. Sean and his wiferegularly foster Labrador retrievers for a local rescue for almost 15 years and have helped over 70dogs find forever homes.Nancy Jo ThomasonThomason & Pracht, LLPNancy Jo Thomason was born in Columbia, where her father, Glenn W. Thomason, was finishinglaw school. Nancy Jo had a passion for the legal profession at a young age. She grew up in the legalcommunity in Anderson watching her father and other lawyers try cases. Her legal education reallystarted long before even graduating high school.After obtaining a BA in Journalism, from the University of South Carolina, Nancy Jo earned her JurisDoctorate from the University of South Carolina, School of Law. She has spent most of her 28 yearpracticing law in the Family Court.Robert N. RosenRosen Law Firm, LLCRobert N. Rosen is a partner in the Rosen Law Firm in Charleston. He received his B.A. degree inhistory from the University of Virginia in 1969, his M.A. degree in History from Harvard Universityin 1970, and his J.D. degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1973.Mr. Rosen has served as Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Charleston and GeneralCounsel for the Charleston County School District. He is a fellow of the American Academy ofMatrimonial Lawyers and the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. He is listed in TheBest Lawyer in America and “Super Lawyers.”He has served on the Board of Editors of The Family Advocate, a publication of the Family LawSection of the American Bar Association, and as President of the South Carolina Chapter of theAmerican Academy.He is the author of A Short History of Charleston, the best selling history of the city; ConfederateCharleston: An Illustrated History of the City and the People During the Civil War; and The JewishConfederates, all published by the University of South Carolina Press; Charleston: A Crossroads ofHistory with Isabella Leland; Saving the Jews: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Holocaust; and StraightTalk About South Carolina Divorce Law.Mr. Rosen has served on the boards of the South Carolina Historical Society, the Historic CharlestonFoundation, and the American Jewish Historical Society. He was Chairman of the HistoryCommission of the City of Charleston, President of the Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina,and President of the Fort Sumter-Fort Moultrie Historical Trust.Stephanie M. BrinkleyBrinkley Law Firm, LLCAs a 2010 graduate of the Charleston School of Law, Stephanie focuses her practice on the complexarea of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) and related legal issues impacting future families.She is Vice Chair for the ART Division under the American Bar Association's (ABA) Family Law

Section and manages its successful mentorship program. Her professional memberships alsoinclude the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (AAAA), the AmericanSociety for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), Resolve, and the Society for Ethics in Egg Donation andSurrogacy (SEEDS). She is also the co-author of Developing a Successful Assisted ReproductionTechnology Law Practice, written with colleague Richard B. Vaughn, which is published by theAmerican Bar Association.As part of her practice, Stephanie represents clients seeking to build their families throughsurrogacy and/or gamete donation. She is also called upon to represent gestational carriers whohave offered their services. With greater frequency, Stephanie is consulted to advise familiestransitioning divorce after creating children through third party reproduction. Parental disputesarising from genetic relationships (or lack thereof), misapplication of medical consent forms, andownership rights of unused embryos are rising among divorce litigants.Jill E. M. HaLeviOffice of Jill E.M. Halevi, Mediation & Legal Svc.Jill received her law degree from the University of Michigan, and she has been a member of theSouth Carolina Bar since 1995. She spent the first 10 years of her legal career as a county and thenfederal public defender, during which time she was active in the creation of the Charleston CountyDrug and Mental Health Courts. Jill spent two years working on legal issues relating to Israel, firstat an organization dedicated to advocating and mediating on behalf of workers in employmentdisputes, and then as an attorney representing victims of terrorist attacks. Jill has been trained incivil, criminal, and family court mediation. She was also trained and worked as a Guardian ad Litemand in Collaborative Law. Jill served for many years on the South Carolina Bar Dispute ResolutionSection Council, including a term as Chair of that Council. She was a co-founder of the MMCC as wellas the Charleston Cooperative Family Law Association, where she currently serves as President andChair, respectively.Emily G. JohnstonLaw Office of Emily G. JohnstonEmily G. Johnston practices family law in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina and the surroundingCharleston low country area. Emily attended MBA/JD school at UNC-Chapel Hill after graduatingfrom UNC-Chapel Hill with a major in French. She spent her junior year in Montpellier, France.During law school and MBA school, she frequently saw famous basketball players on the Tar Heelteam because the gym was in between the law and business schools.After graduating with her prized degree, Emily relocated to the Charleston area to be close to herparents who had retired on Kiawah Island. Kiawah remains one of her favorite places, but herfavorite activity is hiking in the mountains near Caesars Head, South Carolina. She is the proudmother of a son and twin daughters. Emily loves practicing law and meeting and helping newpeople.Emily has focused on Family Court litigation throughout her 35-year career. She is a certifiedmediator. She actively promotes friendship amongst her peers and believes that we can allimprove our working environment in family court.

Kevin M. BarthBarth, Ballenger & Lewis, LLPKevin was born and raised in Marion, South Carolina before attending college at ClemsonUniversity (graduating in 1979) and USC Law School (graduating in 1982). Kevin is married toDonna Barth, whom he met in law school, in Domestic Relations of all things. They have twochildren, Brendan, who practices law with Kevin and John Robert who is employed with ColonialLife. They have three wonderful grandchildren, Taylor (7), Marshall (6) and Hampton (2), who arethe highlight of their lives now. Lastly, Kevin and Donna are the proud parents of two largebullmastiffs, Hettie and Ellie, both of whom think they are lapdogs.After law school, Kevin clerked for Honorable Ralph King Anderson, Jr. for one year when JudgeAnderson was on the circuit bench. He has tried many cases throughout his career including a fewmurder cases and a death penalty case, but his practice has primarily been civil plaintiff’s trials andFamily Court trials. Lately, much of his practice has involved trying and mediating civil cases andmediating family court cases.Kevin has practiced with his current law firm, Barth Ballenger & Lewis since 1987. During thattime he has been lead counsel in six trials that resulted in verdicts in excess of 1,000,000 and wasco-trial counsel in one that resulted in a 237,000,000 verdict. He was President of the FlorenceCounty Bar Association and has served on numerous committees such as the Board ofCommissioners on Grievances and Discipline, Fee Dispute Board, Supreme Court Commission onCLE’s and Specialization, Supreme Court ADR Long Range Planning Committee and the S.C. BarJudicial Qualifications Screening Committee. He has been rated AV by Martindale Hubbell everyyear since 1999 and a South Carolina Super Lawyer every year since 2010.The highlight of Kevin’s legal career occurred in the fall of 2019 when he was inducted into theAmerican College of Trial Lawyers at its Vancouver, Canada meeting, an international invitationonly organization which recognizes lawyers whose careers have consistently displayed excellencein ethics, civility, and competence as a trial lawyer.Jeremy GilbertDixon Hughes Goodman LLPJeremy serves as a director in charge of the digital forensics lab in DHG’s Charleston, SC office andmanages a team of data analytics professionals around the firm.Jeremy’s digital forensic experience includes extracting relevant data from computers,smartphones, and cloud accounts. Jeremy assists attorneys and clients with digital forensics andelectronic discovery issues in a wide variety of matters, including intellectual property theft,improper computer use, hacking incidents, malware incidents, family law, personal injury, workercompensation, and financial fraud.Jeremy’s analytics experience includes assisting clients with fraud investigations, model validation,predictive analytics, fraud deterrence, class certification/decertification, wage and hour claims.

The Do’s and Don’ts for Custody/VisitationProvisionsMarie-Louise Ramsdale

CUSTODY AGREEMENTS IN FAMILY COURTbyMARIE-LOUISE RAMSDALEThe two most important goals for drafting custody agreements:1)How can you draft the agreement to help the parties avoid future conflict?2)How can you draft the agreement so the terms are clear enough to be upheldby a Rule to Show Cause?Remember: You can always make your language better!I.Contract Law Applies:It is YOUR job to protect your client’s rights by writing clear, enforceable contracts!As restated in Gainey v. Gainey, 382 S.C. 414, 428 n.5 (Ct. App. 2009):In South Carolina jurisprudence, marital settlement agreements are viewedas contracts. Harris-Jenkins v. Nissan Car Mart, Inc., 348 S.C. 171, 177, 557S.E.2d 708, 711 (Ct. App. 2001); see also Pruitt v. S.C. Med. MalpracticeLiab.Joint Underwriting Ass'n, 343 S.C. 335, 339, 540 S.E.2d 843, 845 (2001)(enforcement of the terms of a settlement agreement is a matter of contractlaw); Mattox v. Cassady, 289 S.C. 57, 61, 344 S.E.2d 620, 622 (Ct. App. 1986)(applying the general rules of contract construction to a marital settlementagreement).This means agreements must be crafted with as much care and specificity as any other contractand the normal rules of contract interpretation apply. Our Supreme Court has held, “When acontract is unambiguous, clear and explicit, it must be construed according to the terms the partieshave used. The judicial function of a court of law is to enforce a contract as made by theparties, and not to rewrite or distort, under the guise of judicial construction, contracts, theterms of which are plain and unambiguous.” Hardee v. Hardee, 355 S.C. 382, 585 S.E.2d 501Page 1 of 13

(2003)(citations omitted)(emphasis added). As the Court stated in Ellis v. Taylor, 316 S.C. 245,449, S. E. 2d 487 (1994), “courts must enforce an unambiguous contract according to the termsregardless of its wisdom or folly, apparent unreasonableness, or the parties’ failure to guard theirrights carefully. It is not the job of the court to protect litigants from entering into unwiseagreements.” (emphasis added). Our Courts should do their best to give effect to Agreements andCourt Orders exactly as they are written. “Unambiguous marital agreements will be enforced inaccordance with their terms, while ambiguous agreements will be examined in the same manneras other agreements in order to determine the intention of the parties.” Lindsay v. Lindsay, 328S.C. 329, 337, 491 S.E.2d 583, 587 (Ct. App. 1997) (citing McDuffie, 313 S.C. 397, 438 S.E.2d239 (1993)).Story from the field: A judge stated that he could not enforce a “pro rata” split of uncoveredhealthcare expenses because “pro rata” what?II.Jurisdictional Issues and Choice of LawIf you are drafting an agreement in South Carolina for approval by a South Carolina Court,it will be governed by South Carolina law and your agreement should state so clearly. Manyagreements contain the following provision:Governing Law: Both parties expressly agree that this Agreement was dulyexecuted and delivered in the State of South Carolina and its terms and conditionsshall be governed by and interpreted under the laws of the State of South Carolina,including but not limited to any disputes arising from this Agreement, and that

Best Lawyers in America, Family Law Designation, since 1993, received an “AV” designation from Martindale Hubbell since 1996, and has been named in the South Carolina Super Lawyers publication since 2008. He is a contribu