About Divorce Mediation

The emotional and financial costs of the legal process for separation and divorce can be overwhelming and destructive. Myrtle Beach Divorce Mediation offers a positive, affordable alternative to adversarial divorce, child custody, support, property division and other family law disputes.

Most litigated family court cases can take up to ten to twelve months for final resolution and many can take up to a one to two years or more! In mediation, most cases can be resolved in one or two sessions and the finalizing documentation process can usually be wrapped up in a matter of weeks! Scheduling an approval/divorce hearing can usually done in about two months!

While mediation is not free, it is only a fraction of the cost of litigation. Imagine two lawyers engaged in litigation each charging their hourly rates costing the parties a small fortune! Plus, huge retainers are required up front! Compare that to a much lesser single mediator’s hourly rate! No retainer required! If children are involved, a Guardian ad Litem will be appointed – another attorney, and they have to be paid.

Most couples going through separation or divorce are experiencing at least some animosity towards one another. The adversarial court system pits the parties against each other and will greatly magnify that animosity. If they don’t hate each other at the beginning, they almost certainly will when it is over.

That bitterness will affect and poison the children. Child professionals agree that fighting during divorce can severely damage child development and cause long-term emotional and psychological harm.

In mediation, while the parties do not have to like each other, they can engage in a civil, methodical process designed to assist them in achieving resolutions that they deem to be fair and most practical under their circumstances. Plus, they know better than anyone else what is in their best interests - especially the children’s!

Jay Bultz is a trained, certified and experienced mediator. He has over 30 years experience as a mediator and over 40 years experience as a trial attorney in family court. He knows what parties can expect in litigation and knows that the better way to go is mediation!

For those couples who embark on a course of litigation, they will be required to participate in mediation anyway! All contested cases in Family Court in South Carolina are now required to go to mediation before they can go to trial. Why not start with mediation before the court process begins, finances are destroyed and negative emotions become entrenched? If it fails, the Court can still credit the attempt and waive the mandatory mediation requirement!