Divorce Arbitration

The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers recently released the Model Family Law Arbitration Act. The model act is meant to make arbitration available for divorcing couples, while recognizing the important differences between divorce cases and other civil disputes.

For example, the model act allows couples to agree before marriage to arbitrate any issue except child support, child custody, or the divorce itself. During or after marriage couples can agree to arbitrate any issue except for the divorce itself. And even after arbitration, a party can ask a court to vacate an award for child support or child custody if it is not in the best interests of the child.

These special rules seem necessary -- but they also remove many of the benefits of arbitration. Proponents of the model act say that family law arbitration helps protect privacy and that it can speed case resolution. North Carolina enacted a family law arbitration act in 1999.

For more information, see the AAML press release or the ABA Journal eReport.