Families seeking legal resolutions to separation, divorce, custody arrangements, and adoption have options. Guy will explore all of your options with you to determine which approach is best suited to your needs and situation. Following are brief explanations of three widely used approaches. Click on “learn more” at the end of the explanations for more detailed information.

Collaborative Law. Where parties and their attorneys work cooperatively to negotiate fair settlements without court intervention.

Unlike mediation and litigation, the collaborative process begins before any legal proceedings are initiated. The attorneys, trained and certified in the collaborative process, advocate for their clients while working toward agreement. This team approach can include financial and mental health specialists (also trained in the Collaborative Law process) to assist in reaching a timely and cost-effective settlement.

Guy was the first South Carolina attorney to be certified in collaborative law. He is a founding member and serves as president of the South Carolina Collaborative Law Institute, established in Charleston, South Carolina in 2004. The South Carolina Collaborative Law Institute has facilitated training in collaborative law for over fifty attorneys and other professionals.

Mediation. When a neutral third party meets with both parties and works to resolve issues.

For many years, mediation was the only alternative to litigation in family law cases and it is widely used today. Mediators attend a comprehensive 40 hour course preparing them to negotiate agreements. Mediation works better in some situations than others. Depending on the mediator, attorneys for the parties may or may not be present during the mediation. Once the parties concur, an agreement can be drawn up and presented to the Court for approval.

Litigation. When one party sues another by filing the complaint asking Family Court to resolve the family dispute.

With this approach, the two sides are clearly opposing one another and their attorneys act as hired gladiators. The communication is formal and goes from one client to his or her attorney, from that attorney to the other attorney and vice versa.

In South Carolina, a person can sue their spouse by alleging marital fault, such as adultery, habitual drunkenness or drug use, abandonment, or physical cruelty. This is called a "fault based" divorce. If a person proves to the Court that their spouse has committed marital fault, it could affect an award of alimony, child custody and the distribution of the parties’ marital property. In order to obtain a “no fault” divorce in South Carolina, the parties must live separate and apart for one year.