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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 10-1625

THE COURTS

McKEAN COUNTY

Promulgation of Civil Local Rule L1940.1; Civil Division; No. 158 December Term 1904

[40 Pa.B. 5064]
[Saturday, September 4, 2010]

Order

 And Now, this 31st day of July, 2010, the Court Orders the following:

 1. Local Rule of Civil Procedure L1940.1 is hereby amended and shall become effective thirty (30) days after publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin;

 2. The Court Administrator of the 48th Judicial District is hereby Ordered and Directed to do the following:

 a. File seven (7) certified copies of this Order and the pertinent Rule with the administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts;

 b. File two (2) certified copies and a computer diskette containing this Order and the pertinent Rule with the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin;

 c. File one (1) certified copy of this Order and the pertinent Rule with the Domestic Relations Procedural Rules Committee;

 d. Keep continuously available for public inspection copies of this Order and the pertinent Rule.

By the Court

JOHN H. PAVLOCK, 
President Judge

Rule L1940.1. Contested Child Custody Cases—Mediation Referral Procedure.

 1. Except as further modified by these rules, all parties in a contested custody action are required to attend a Child Custody Orientation Session/Conference and Child Custody Mediation. Except as further modified in these rules, all pleadings raising an issue of child custody shall be forwarded by the Prothonotary's Office to the Family Law Master's Office for the scheduling of the Orientation Session/Conference and Mediation. The Family Law Master's Office shall schedule the Orientation Session/Conference no later than thirty (30) days from the date of the filing of the pleading raising a child custody issue. The Family Law Master's Office shall schedule Mediation no later than forty five (45) days after the Custody Orientation Session/Conference.

 2. During the Orientation Session/Conference the custody mediator shall explain the custody mediation process and the custody litigation process to the parties. The mediator shall make sure that all parties have received the McKean County Custody Information Packet outlined in paragraph 4 of this Rule. Further, the mediator shall assure him/herself that the parties understand the custody litigation process and their rights and obligations. The mediator shall also obtain from the parties their completed McKean County Custody Background Information form described in paragraph 4 of this Order. After the mediator meets with the parties and provides them with general information, the parties and their counsel shall meet for a conference, without the mediator present, and discuss which aspects of their case can be stipulated/agreed upon and which areas remain in dispute. After this conference between the parties they shall report back to the mediator and inform him/her of the status of the case. If a complete agreement is reached, the mediator shall assist the parties in documenting its terms so that they can be presented to the Court for their adoption as an Order of Court. At the mediators discretion, the conference portion of the Initial Orientation Session/Conference can be waived if counsel for the parties demonstrates that the parties had already met and conferenced the case and further conference would not be productive.

 3. Custody mediation shall be conducted by a Custody Mediator appointed by the Court. The purpose of the mediation session is to provide a nonadversarial forum for the parties to attempt to work out their disputes regarding child custody issues and reach an agreement that can be adopted by the Court. If the parties reach an agreement the mediator shall reduce said agreement into writing and have the parties sign it. The mediator shall then forward the parties' agreement to the Court and the Court shall, if it deems appropriate to do so, adopt its terms as a binding Order of Court.

 4. Within seven days of the filing of a pleading raising a child custody issue, the McKean County Prothonotary's office shall forward a McKean County Custody Information Packet to all parties named in said action (to counsel or, if a party is pro se, directly to said party). This information packet shall be developed by the Family Law Master's Office and the Court in consultation with the Prothonatary and the McKean County Bar Association. It shall be modified from time to time as the Court deems appropriate. In general, said information packet shall contain a summary of the McKean County custody and mediation process and the factors and standard that the Court must consider when addressing a custody dispute. Said packet shall specifically advise the parties of the information set forth at Pa.R.C.P. 1940.5(a)(1)—(6) and 1940.5(b). Counsel shall assure that their clients receive, in a timely manner, the McKean County Custody Information Packet. Included in every Custody Information Packet shall be a McKean County Custody Background Information form. This form shall be developed by the Family Law Master's Office and the Court in consultation with the McKean County Bar Association. In general, this form shall request basic information to assist the custody mediator including, but not limited to, the name, age and address of the parties and children, a summary of the custody arrangement for the child(ren), and an outline of the request of each party regarding child custody. The parties shall be required to complete this form and return it to the Family Law Master's Office at the time of their scheduled Orientation Session/Conference. The Custody Information Packet shall also include the Notice of Bar to Conference/Mediation Form outlined in paragraph 3 of this Order.

 5. Included in the McKean County Custody Information packet provided to the parties shall be a Notice of Bar to Conference/Mediation Form. This Form shall contain the language set forth in 23 Pa.C.S. § 3901(c)(2) which bars the Orientation Session/Conference and Mediation if a party or a child of either party is or has been the subject of domestic violence or child abuse either during the pendency of the action or within 24 months preceding the filing of the action. This form shall also include instructions to each party that, if he/she asserts that domestic violence and/or child abuse has occurred and, therefore, he/she requests that the Orientation Session/Conference and Mediation be barred, he/she shall sign the pre-printed request located at the bottom of the Notice and promptly return it to the Family Law Master's Office. If the Family Law Master's Office receives this signed form back, or a request is otherwise made to invoke the provisions of 23 Pa.C.S. § 3901(c)(2), the matter shall be referred to the Court and an Orientation Session/Conference and Mediation shall not be scheduled for that case.

 6. If the parties do not reach an agreement after custody mediation, or the case is referred directly to the Court without mediation having been held, custody evaluations will not be ordered unless: A) the mediator recommends that a custody evaluation occur and the Court adopts this recommendation; or, B) one or both of the parties files a written motion requesting that a custody evaluation be ordered and the Court grants this request; or, C) the Court believes that an evaluation is warranted and therefore orders one. If the parties do not mutually agree on an evaluator to conduct the custody evaluation, then they shall so notify the Court. Further, each party shall provide the Court with the names of two suggested and properly qualified evaluators. The Court will then issue an order appointing a custody evaluator. If the Court orders that a custody evaluation occur, then McKean County shall initially pay the evaluator for his reasonable costs and the parties shall each reimburse the County for one-half (1/2) of the total costs.

 7. As authorized by 23 Pa.C.S. § 3902(a), an additional filing fee of $20.00 shall be assessed for the filing of every divorce and custody complaint, including any petition to modify an existing custody order. This fee shall be paid to McKean County as reimbursement for McKean County's mediation program.

 8. As authorized by 23 Pa.C.S. § 3902(b), as reimbursement to McKean County for the cost of mediation, whenever mediation is scheduled each party shall pay one-half (1/2) of a $400.00 mediation fee (each party to pay $200.00). This $200.00 fee shall be paid at the conclusion of the Orientation Session/Conference if the mediator concludes that the parties have been unable to reach a complete agreement and it is therefore necessary to schedule the case for custody mediation (paid to Family Law Master's Office before parties leave the Orientation Session/Conference).1 The Family Law Master's Office shall, within seven (7) days of payment of the mediation fee (or waiver of the fee), schedule a date for mediation. The Family Law Master's Office shall strive to schedule mediation within forty five (45) days of when the parties have each paid the mediation fee or the fee has been waived. Under no circumstances shall mediation be scheduled any later than sixty (60) days from payment or waiver of the mediation reimbursement fee. If the parties reach a complete and written custody agreement that resolves the need for custody mediation, and said agreement is provided to the mediator at least ten (10) days prior to the scheduled mediation date, then the parties shall be refunded $150.00 of the $200.00 mediation fee that they had paid. If a party fails to pay the mediation reimbursement fee at the conclusion of the Orientation Session/Conference, the matter shall be scheduled for a contempt hearing for failure to pay.

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 10-1625. Filed for public inspection September 3, 2010, 9:00 a.m.]

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1  At the discretion of the mediator, this fee can be waived if a party petitions for and receives in forma pauperas status by the Court.


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