Section 5.5 Uniform Arbitration Act, Chapter 435, RSMo

• Library: Family Law Deskbook and 2014 Supp

A. (§5.5) Uniform Arbitration Act, Chapter 435, RSMo

Alternatives to court trials of dissolution, postdissolution, and other custody and family related issues were in use before the Missouri legislature provided any specific authority for their use. Some states have gone as far as to require mediation or arbitration in certain civil and child custody matters, either for every such case or as determined by the judge on a case-by-case basis. See, e.g.:

Minn. Stat. Ann. § 518.619 (Westlaw current through 2011 legislation session) (“[I]f . . . custody or parenting time is contested, or . . . any issue pertinent to a custody or parenting time determination, including parenting time rights, is unresolved, the matter may be set for mediation of the contested issue prior to, concurrent with, or...