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For two spouses to carry out a divorce, important decisions must be made about the custody and visitation rights of their children, the division of their assets and debts, and the issues surrounding spousal support. Various approaches can be used to arrive at decisions regarding the breaking of the marital bonds between two spouses.
Mediation is often the first approach recommended to divorcing spouses. Mediation allows the spouses to maintain a large degree of control in the decisions made about their divorce, and is an encouraged method because it can speed up the process and reduce the monetary costs associated with divorce litigation.
Mediation
Divorce mediation in Charleston is the preferred method to approaching a divorce because it is more cooperative than litigation. It encourages mutual understanding and dispute resolution between the spouses— while keeping them in control of their decisions and the outcomes and consequences thereof. It is designed to keep decision-making power in the hands of the people who know the situation the best—the spouses who are living it.
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While a judge has the professional training, experience, and knowledge necessary to resolve divorce disputes, no judge can know the unique conditions and circumstances of a family as well as the family itself. To avoid having lifelong decisions imposed upon them by a South Carolina court, many divorcing spouses choose mediation, and the flexible and creative solutions it can offer.
However, mediation is not always an appropriate approach, and it is not always successful. If one party is unwilling or unable to participate in the mediation process, it is not a plausible option. Similarly, if a mediator concludes that the spouses are not reaching an agreement, discovers that disclosure from one or both spouses was not full or fair, or believes that an agreement is not fair, a strategy other than mediation may be encouraged.
Litigation
If a fair, cooperative, and mutual agreement cannot be reached between two divorcing spouses through mediation, then the approach must be shifted from cooperative resolution to litigation. Divorce litigation is held in a court setting, and the decisions that are made in the divorce proceedings are made by a judge, after he or she has evaluated the information, advocacy, and negotiations set forth by the attorney of each spouse.
In addition to the higher costs incurred by divorce litigation, this approach often involves filed declarations made by both spouses (in an attempt to gain an advantage) which become public records accessible to anyone who searches for them after the case is closed.
While the divorce process can be a highly stressful, many people prefer being personally responsible and accountable for the decisions that it involves.
Although mediation promotes this wish to maintain control of the decision-making process, it is not always a successful or appropriate method. If you are involved in a divorce in Charleston, South Carolina, contact an experience attorney to help with your case.
While you should find a lawyer skilled in mediation, and encourage it as a method that gives you a sense of control over divorce-related decisions, also look for one who is skilled in aggressively advocating the rights of our clients in litigation when mediation is not an option.
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