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Custody or Visitation & Mediation Services

Quick Facts

Court may appoint mediator if parents cannot resolve issues.
Mediator won't be appointed if parents or children are abused.
Court can appoint mediator or parents can agree to mediator.
Mediation is confidential.
Mediation agreement cannot be forced on parents.

Mediation Proceeding

In general, if the following appear unresolved by the child custody petition or other application for an order or modification of an order for the custody of a child, the matter may be set for mediation of the contested issue prior to, concurrent with, or subsequent to the setting of the matter for hearing.

custody or parenting time is contested
any issue pertinent to a custody or parenting time determination
parenting time rights

The purpose of the mediation proceeding is to reduce acrimony and hostility that often exist between the parents and to develop an agreement that is supportive of the child's best interests.

The mediator's goal is to help the parents reach settlement of the issues in the custody or parenting time dispute. However, a mediator has no authority to force any result. A mediator can use the tools available in alternative dispute resolution, but adjudication is not one of them. The settlement must be mutual agreement.

Exception

If there is evidence that one of the parents, or a child of a parent, has been physically or sexually abused by the other parent, the court will not require the parties mediate or engage in any other alternative dispute resolution process that requires parents to meet and confer without their attorneys present.

Judicial Appointment of Mediator

In order to participate in custody mediation, a mediator must first be appointed by the family court. The mediator will be an approved member of the professional staff of the family court, probation department, mental health services agency, or private mediation service. The court maintains a list of approved mediators. The parents are permitted to stipulate to a mediator who is not on the court's approved-mediators list.

Mediator Qualifications

A mediator who performs mediation in contested child custody matters must meet the following minimum qualifications:

knowledge of the court system and the procedures used in contested child custody matters;
knowledge of other resources in the community to which the parties to contested child custody matters can be referred for assistance;
knowledge of child development, clinical issues relating to children, the effects of marriage dissolution on children, and child custody research; and
a minimum of 40 hours of certified mediation training.

Records & Private Data

Mediation proceedings are conducted in private. All records of the mediation proceeding are private and not available as evidence in divorce and related proceedings on any issue in controversy in the dissolution.

The Mediator's Recommendations

When the parents cannot reach an agreement as a result of the mediation, the mediator should recommend to the court that an investigation be conducted, or that other action be taken to assist the parents to resolve the controversy before resorting to a hearing on the issues. The mediator may not conduct the investigation or evaluation unless one of the following happens:

the parents agree in writing, executed after the end of mediation, that the mediator may conduct the investigation or evaluation, or
no other person is available to conduct the investigation or evaluation.

The mediator may recommend that mutual restraining orders should be issued if required, pending the outcome of the case, to protect the children.

Mediation Agreement

An agreement reached by the parents as a result of mediation will then be discussed by the parents with their respectiev attorneys. The approved agreement may then be included in the marital dissolution decree or other stipulation submitted to the court. The agreement may not be presented to the court unless the parents and their lawyers consent to its presentation to the court. The agreement is only enforceable if the court adopts the agreement.