Rule 12.Attorneys for guardians ad litem

Rule 12 is one sentence, and it answers a question that arises whenever a guardian ad litem hires a lawyer.

The provision

If a guardian ad litem is represented by an attorney, the court in its discretion may assess reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.

What each part does

The condition is narrow. This is not about a guardian ad litem's own fee — it is about the fee of a lawyer the guardian has retained. A guardian ad litem in a South Carolina family case is frequently not a lawyer, and where the guardian needs legal representation to do the job, someone has to pay for it.

The authority is discretionary: "may". And the amount is bounded by reasonable. The rule does not say who pays, which leaves the court to allocate it between the parties as the circumstances warrant.

Where it sits among the fee provisions

South Carolina's family rules address fees in three separate places, and they do different things:

• Rule 12 — the fee of an attorney representing a guardian ad litem, discretionary and uncapped;
• Rule 41 — the fee of appointed counsel and of the guardian ad litem themselves in abuse and neglect proceedings, capped at $100 and $50 respectively, and exceedable only on findings of extraordinary circumstances;
• Rule 28(c) — a consent order about the appointment of, fees for, or relief of counsel or a guardian ad litem may issue without a hearing.

A reader looking for the fee rule needs to know which of the three situations they are in.