Does the court have the authority to require the parties in a divorce action to attend mediation?
The Texas Family Code provides that the judge may order the parties to attend an alternate dispute resolution and in that event, the court will issue a written notice to the parties’ attorneys. While the court may not require the parties to settle, it can insist that the parties act in good faith in trying to reach an amicable resolution. A party wishing to object has ten days from the receipt of the notice to file written objections. The court may not order that the parties attend mediation within the ten day period following receipt of the notice. This allows the objecting party the time to exercise its right to object. If the court finds a reasonable basis for the objections, it may not refer the case to mediation.
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