South Carolina Certified Family Court Mediator
Mediation is an alternative to going to taking your contested divorce to court. It is required in all counties, in South Carolina. For many couples, it can be the best way to reach an agreement on some or all of the contested issues. Mediation does not affect your right to go to trial, and everything that happens during mediation is confidential. During mediation, a neutral third party helps you and your spouse negotiate and, hopefully come to an agreement that works for both of you. South Carolina attorney J. Darrell Beckham is a certified family court mediator. Please, contact us today to learn more.
Understanding Mediation
Mediation is a negotiation process. The mediator is a neutral party who does not represent you or your spouse. The process is informal and everything that is discussed is confidential, so it cannot be used against you if you do take your divorce to court.
The mediator helps you reach an agreement. He does not make decisions for you or force you to reach a settlement. You are not required to reach a settlement at all. Any settlement is voluntary.
Even if you only reach an agreement on one issue, that agreement can be submitted to the court to be finalized, so that the court does not decide for you. For instance, some couples find that, through mediation, they can agree on an issue such as child custody and visitation, but not on spousal support or property division. That is perfectly fine. It is one less issue to take to court, and it means that you and your spouse made these important decisions for your child’s well-being, rather than having the decisions made by a stranger who does not know your child and his or her needs like you do.
You Choose the Terms
Mediation lets you and your spouse talk about what really matters and find the compromise that works for both of you. You can be specific. For instance, sometimes in property division the “little things” are the most important. You have the opportunity to negotiate a fair distribution that specifically allows each of you to keep the things that are most meaningful to you.
If the court takes over, you may find that neither one of you are happy with the terms it chooses for you, even if they look fair on paper.
To learn more about mediation in South Carolina and how we can help, please call the Law Office of J. Darrell Beckham, LLC, at 803-364-9111 or contact us online right away to schedule your consultation.