South Carolina Department of Social Services ex rel. Fingerlin v. Fingerlin

Gregory, Justice:

Alfred Ernest Fingerlin challenges both the subject matter and personal jurisdiction of the Family Court for the Fifth Judicial Circuit to enforce the child support provisions of a 1970 divorce decree. We disagree and affirm.

The 1970 decree was entered in the Court of Common Pleas for the Fifth Judicial Circuit, which then had concurrent jurisdiction of domestic matters. The General Assembly subsequently enacted S. C. Code § 20-7-420 (Cum. Supp. 1983), *74which placed exclusive jurisdiction of domestic matters in the Family Court.

In 1982, respondent sought to recover child…