Child custody and support issues associated with divorce and paternity cases almost always generate emotional upheaval. The traditional adversarial court process far too often only serves to fan the flames of these emotions by focusing on one party emerging as the “winner.” Judicial officers who work in these areas know that separating families into winners and losers is counterproductive, especially for the children. Courts are increasingly encouraging, or even requiring, parties to attempt to resolve cases through alternative dispute resolution (ADR), but many litigants remain unfamiliar with this process and the options available to them.
The Indiana Supreme Court Division of State Court Administration, through the Family Court Project, recently released a new video entitled: “Real Dialogue. Real Answers. Alternative Dispute Resolution.” The video is designed to give people involved in family law cases an overview of the options available for resolving their cases outside of court. It focuses primarily on mediation, but other options are also addressed, such as facilitation and arbitration. Viewers can find information about the role of the mediator, how mediation works, the types of disputes that can be mediated, and the benefits of mediation.
The popularity of last year’s “Family Matters: Choosing to Represent Yourself in Court” demonstrated that video can be a powerful tool in providing information to litigants. Anecdotal reports from court personnel, pro bono program directors, and library staff indicate that Family Matters has been well-received by litigants seeking information regarding self-representation. The most popular chapters of the Family Matters video have been viewed from 3000 to almost 6000 times, and have received high ratings by viewers.
An increasing number of counties are adopting ADR plans under I.C. 33-23-6, which was enacted in 2003 and allows a court to collect an additional $20 filing fee in domestic relations cases. The fees must be placed in a fund to provide low cost ADR services to family law litigants who might not otherwise be able to afford those services. Some counties have adopted local rules requiring mediation under certain circumstances. As a result, many family law litigants are ordered to mediation with no idea what mediation is, or what it entails. Many others, who are not ordered to participate, could benefit from mediation but have no idea what it is or how to access the services. The video is intended to be a useful tool for all family law litigants by introducing them to the basics of ADR and giving them a general idea of what they can expect from the process.
The video is divided into short chapters for ease of viewing and can be found on the Supreme Court website at courts.in.gov/webcast/adr.html.
ADR Program At-a-Glance
On July 1, 2003, legislation went into effect allowing counties to charge an additional $20.00 fee to parties filing a petition for legal separation, paternity or dissolution of marriage, to be placed into an alternative dispute resolution fee fund.
The funds must be used to promote domestic relations alternative dispute resolution, and must primarily benefit litigants who have the least ability to pay.
Alternative dispute resolution is defined broadly and includes such activities as mediation, reconciliation, non-binding arbitration, and parental counseling.
Litigants with current charges or a former conviction for certain crimes relating to domestic violence are excluded from participating.
Counties wanting to participate in an ADR program must develop an ADR plan consistent with the statute. The Executive Director of the Supreme Court, Division of State Court Administration must approve the plans.
Some of the benefits of the ADR programs are:
- they provide an opportunity for litigants involved in divorce and paternity litigation to mediate their dispute when they would otherwise be unable to afford it;
- mediation resolves issues much more quickly and efficiently and saves a tremendous amount of court time;
- mediation reduces the adversarial hostility of the litigants and gives them a model as to how to resolve their disputes on their own;
- mediation provides better access and more efficient processing for self-represented litigants; and
- parenting classes and counseling help parents to reduce conflict between them and to maintain a more positive parenting relationship for the sake of the children.
The Division of State Court Administration has developed a guide to help judges who are interested in starting an ADR program. Download the ADR Starter Kit at courts.in.gov/adr/forms.