10/01/2026
One Year in South Carolina with the New Temporary Hearing Rules; Rule 21.
Rule 21 underwent significant changes that took effect on October 1, 2025. Like many lawyers, I was doubtful that anything new would be good. The new rule required a big practice adjustment. The new rule made efforts at eliminating “trial by ambush” by requiring affidavits to be filed and served at least a week ahead of the temporary hearing. Other changes, such as page limits, were clarified and implemented. Since that time, I have seen a fundamental change in the way that lawyers are approaching temporary hearings. I believe that most of the changes are for the better.
Lawyers are getting together and resolving temporary issues by consent before the hearing. I believe that this is occurring more frequently than it did when the other side’s evidence and position was not known prior to the hearing. This is a good thing because it saves the client both the money for the temporary hearing and the personal stress that temporary hearings inherently cause.
Lawyers are scheduling mediation earlier in many cases. Part of many of the temporary agreements are lawyers agreeing to mediate within 90 days.
Lawyers are exchanging information without as much formal discovery. Discovery is expensive. Any lawyer can generate a quick discovery request. Answering them takes hours. All those hours are billed. If lawyers are getting and giving information more freely, the client benefits. There are still times that formal discovery is necessary, but those cases are fewer now.
If you have a Family Court matter in Anderson County, South Carolina, and would like Goodwin Law to help you, M. J. Goodwin and Thomas Goodwin are happy to talk about it. Send an email to [email protected] and we will get you scheduled as quickly as possible.
