South Carolina Code 15-50-80. Attorney guardian ad litems to advise the court
(B) The court must appoint an attorney to serve as a guardian ad litem in any case involving:
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 15-50-80
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Independent professional advice: means advice of an attorney, certified public accountant, actuary, or other licensed professional advisor. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
- Payee: means an individual who is receiving tax-free payments under a structured settlement and who proposes to make a transfer of payment rights under the settlement. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- Structured settlement: means an arrangement for periodic payment of damages for personal injuries or sickness established by settlement or judgment in resolution of a tort claim. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
- Transfer: means the sale, assignment, pledge, hypothecation, or other alienation or encumbrance of structured settlement payment rights made by a payee for consideration; except that the term "transfer" does not include the creation or perfection of a security interest in structured settlement payment rights under a blanket security agreement entered into with an insured depository institution, in the absence of an action to redirect the structured settlement payments to the insured depository institution, or an agent or successor in interest of it, or otherwise to enforce the blanket security interest against the structured settlement payment rights. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
- Transferee: means a party acquiring or proposing to acquire structured settlement payment rights through a transfer. See South Carolina Code 15-50-20
(1) a proposed transfer of a minor’s structured settlement payment rights by a conservator or by a parent or guardian if a conservator has not been appointed. The guardian ad litem must advise the court on whether the proposed transfer is of direct benefit to the minor; or
(2) a proposed transfer of structured settlement payment rights involving a payee who appears to the court to suffer from a mental or cognitive impairment.
(C) The transferee must file a motion for the appointment of an attorney to serve as a guardian ad litem prior to a hearing on the proposed transfer if the transferee is aware that:
(1) the underlying structured settlement arose from a case in which a finding was made in a court record of a mental or cognitive impairment on the part of the payee;
(2) a conservator or guardian has been appointed for the payee; or
(3) a finding has been made in a court record, other than that of the underlying structured settlement case, of a mental or cognitive impairment on the part of the payee.
(D) In conjunction with the motion filed pursuant to subsection (C), the transferee shall provide to the court, either in-camera or as directed by the court in a way to protect the privacy of the payee, any such findings known to the transferee that describe the nature, extent, or consequences of the payee’s mental or cognitive impairment.
(E) An attorney appointed to serve as a guardian ad litem by the court must report to the court the guardian ad litem’s assessment and advice at a time determined by the court.
(F) Nothing in this section affects the rights and protections of persons subject to guardianship or conservatorship under the laws of this State.