Is Mediation Required in St. Charles County?
Yes for contested custody and visitation, and the local rule sets a three hour minimum.
The mediation St Charles County rule is the least like its neighbors of the four circuits this firm serves. It runs a longer minimum than the others and it limits you to a mediator from a closed, court maintained list.
The local rule sits on top of Supreme Court Rule 88.02, which authorizes circuits to establish mediation programs in the first place, and Rule 88.04, which lets a court order mediation of any contested issue in a domestic relations or paternity case.
Local Rule 68.17(A) of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, published in the circuit’s Local Court Rules, provides that “in every case involving contested issues of child custody and/or visitation, the parties shall participate in a minimum of three (3) hours of mediation pursuant to Missouri Supreme Court Rule 88.02 through 88.08 and this local rule unless waived by the court for good cause shown as hereinafter set forth.”
One note on sourcing before anything else. This page was written from the Local Court Rules of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit as linked from the Circuit Clerk page on the court’s own site. The rulebook carries no effective date on its cover or in its footers, but individual rules carry their own printed amendment parentheticals, and Rule 68.17 is one of them. Local rules change without notice, so confirm the current version before relying on any of it.
What Does the Three Hour Requirement Actually Cover?
Contested child custody and visitation, and nothing else is compelled.
This is the point most often overstated in summaries of mediation St Charles County practice, so it is worth being exact.
Rule 68.17(A) continues that “in all family-law related cases referred to mediation by the terms of this rule, the parties are encouraged to mediate any or all other issues including, but not limited to, child support, property division and maintenance.”
Encouraged, not required. So for a business owner or a professional whose real dispute is a company valuation, deferred compensation or the size of the marital estate, this circuit differs from the practice next door, where St. Louis County Local Rule 68.14 requires mediation “in every domestic relations and paternity case involving contested issues, including, but not limited to, child custody, parenting time, parenting plans, child support, maintenance, or property division.”
Which does not mean the financial issues stay out of the room here. It means putting them there is a decision rather than an obligation, and it is one worth making with your own counsel rather than at the session. Our page on the St. Louis County family court covers how the neighboring circuit runs.
When Does the Court Order It?
By default, unless you arrive at the initial case management conference with a signed parenting plan.
Rule 68.17(A) provides that “unless the parties present a signed parenting plan related to custody and visitation to the Court at the initial case management conference, mediation shall be ordered under this section.”
That single sentence is the most useful piece of timing information in the whole mediation St Charles County rule. The window to avoid an order closes at the initial case management conference, and the way to use it is an agreed parenting plan filed before that date. Our FAQ on parenting plans covers the twenty two items a Missouri plan has to contain, which is why an agreed one takes longer to build than most people expect.
There is an earlier date too. Rule 68.15(C) provides that a Mediation Notice and Election Form “may be filed in any proceeding with the Court within thirty (30) days of the date in which responsive pleadings are due,” or the court may order mediation on its own motion at any time.
Rule 68.17(D) closes the loop at the other end. Within fourteen days of completion the mediator files “a notice indicating the compliance with the minimum three hours of mediation pursuant to the rule” along with notice of whether the issues settled.
Has the Rule Changed Recently?
Yes, and the date is printed on the face of the rule. The parenthetical closing Rule 68.17 reads “(Adopted 12/10/07, Amended 12/7/09, Amended 12/1/25).”
What the document does not say is what that amendment changed. It is widely repeated online that the minimum was raised from two hours to three. No earlier version of the rules was retrievable from any source, so we do not state that as fact. What is verifiable is that the current text says three hours and that Rule 68.17 carries a 1 December 2025 amendment date.
That distinction matters more than it looks. The rulebook has no cover date and no footer date, which is why it is sometimes described as undated. The individual rules are dated, and this one is recent.
Do I Get to Choose the Mediator?
Only from the court’s list, and the list is closed.
This is the most distinctive feature of the Eleventh Circuit’s rule and it is stated without ambiguity. Rule 68.18(C) provides that “only those persons who are included on the court-maintained list of mediators may be considered as mediators according to this rule.”
To be included, a person files an affidavit with the Circuit Clerk along with a statement giving business address, telephone, fax and email, degrees and the institutions granting them, “type and number of hours of mediation training,” current profession and hourly rate of mediation.
Rule 68.17(C) supplies what happens if the parties cannot agree, providing that “if the parties have not selected a mutually agreeable mediator from the court-approved list, the court shall appoint a mediator from the court-approved list to conduct mediation pursuant to the rule.”
You do get one refusal, and almost nobody uses it. Rule 68.18(F) provides that disqualification of a mediator “shall be ordered in any legal proceeding upon the filing of a written application within ten (10) days of appointment,” and that “each party is entitled to one (1) disqualification in each proceeding,” with more available for good cause shown. Ten days is a short window and it runs from appointment, not from the session.
Two consequences follow for a financially complex case.
- You cannot bring in a neutral with a particular valuation or forensic accounting background unless that person is already on the list
- Because the list records each mediator’s training and current profession, it is worth reading before agreeing to a name rather than after, and worth reading inside the ten day window rather than outside it
One inconsistency is worth noting rather than resolving, because it affects where you go to ask for the list. Rule 68.15(G) says the Circuit Clerk maintains the list of qualified neutrals. Rule 68.18(C) says the Family Court Coordinator maintains it. Rule 68.18(D) has the Family Court Administrative Judge updating it, and Rule 68.15(C) has counsel obtaining it from the Family Court Coordinator. Four provisions, three different offices. Ask your attorney to obtain it rather than working out which one is right.
How Qualified Is a Mediator on That List?
More than the statewide floor requires, which is the part most summaries of mediation St Charles County procedure get wrong.
Supreme Court Rule 88.05 sets the statewide baseline for family mediators. The Eleventh Circuit sets a higher one.
Rule 68.18(A) requires a mediator to state by affidavit that he or she is an attorney or holds a graduate degree in a field including the study of “psychiatry, psychology, social work, counseling or other behavioral science substantially related to marriage and family interpersonal relationships,” and has completed an approved program of “at least forty (40) hours of curriculum requirements approved by the Missouri Supreme Court or its designee.” That curriculum “must include at least four (4) hours dealing with domestic violence and power imbalance issues.”
Forty hours, not twenty.
Anyone quoting the statewide minimum on a St. Charles case is understating what this circuit’s list actually requires.
There is one carve out and it is worth knowing before you agree to a name. Rule 68.18(B) provides that mediators trained before 1 December 2002 “shall be exempt from the new education requirements established above with the exception of continuing education,” though they must tell the court how many formal hours of training they did receive. So the list can contain long serving mediators who never sat the forty hour program.
Is a Mediator Qualified to Value My Business?
Nothing in either qualification rule suggests so.
What Rule 68.18(A) describes is a custody trained neutral with a legal or behavioral science background and forty hours of mediation curriculum. It says nothing about business valuation, marketability discounts, add backs or normalizing owner compensation.
None of which makes a mediator the wrong person to have. It makes the mediator the wrong person to develop a valuation. The numbers come from experts and counsel, and the neutral helps the parties negotiate once those numbers exist.
Who Pays for It?
The parties pay the mediator directly, and the court can review whether the fee is reasonable.
Rule 68.15(E) provides that “the parties will pay the mediator’s fees according to the Court Order for Mediation. Fees shall be paid directly to the mediator selected. The Court reserves the right to review the reasonableness of the fee charged by the mediator.”
Rule 68.17(C) adds that “fees for mediation may be adjusted by the court upon consideration of the parties’ Statement of Income and Expenses and if resources are available to the Court.” Our FAQ on the statement of income and expenses covers the document that drives that adjustment.
We do not publish fee figures for mediators or for our own work. What is useful to know is that the court list records each mediator’s hourly rate, and that the allocation between the parties comes from the order rather than being fixed by the rule.
Can the Requirement Be Waived?
The rule refers to a good cause waiver and then does not set out the standard.
That is an unusual thing to find in a local rule and it is worth flagging honestly rather than papering over. Rule 68.17(A) says mediation is required “unless waived by the court for good cause shown as hereinafter set forth.” Nothing later in Rules 68.15 through 68.22 sets out a good cause waiver procedure or standard. The cross reference points nowhere.
What the rule does contain is a mediator screening provision. Rule 68.17(E) provides that “some cases may be inappropriate for mediation, which may include those with a history of domestic violence. If the case is deemed inappropriate for mediation due to domestic violence or a significant imbalance of negotiating power or for any other reason determined by the mediator, the mediator shall so notify the Court in writing.”
Read that carefully, because it is not an exemption. The trigger is the mediator’s determination rather than a party’s right, and the mechanism is a written notice to the court. Nothing in the mediation St Charles County rules gives a party a route to opt out on their own.
Section 452.372.2 RSMo supplies the standard the local rule leaves blank, providing that good cause “includes, but is not limited to, uncontested custody or temporary physical custody cases, or a finding of domestic violence or abuse as determined by a court with jurisdiction after all parties have received notice and an opportunity to be heard, but does not mean the absence of qualified mediators.” Anyone with a safety concern should raise it with their own attorney well before an appointment, and our page on when divorce mediation may not be your best option covers the circumstances that matter.
Can I Leave If It Is Not Working?
Yes, and the local rule points to the Supreme Court rule for it.
Rule 68.20(A) provides that “either party may terminate mediation at any time as per Supreme Court Rule 88.07.”
Rule 88.07(a) is the source, providing that “at any time after two hours of mediation either party may terminate mediation ordered under Rule 88.04.” Note the interaction between that two hour figure and the local three hour minimum. It is a question worth raising with your own counsel rather than assuming an answer to.
Rule 68.20(B) adds the mediator’s own duty, that the mediator “shall terminate mediation whenever the mediator believes” that continuation “would harm or prejudice one or more of the parties or the children,” or that a party’s ability or willingness to participate meaningfully “is so lacking that a reasonable agreement is unlikely.”
Beyond the minimum, Rule 68.17(A) provides that “any mediation beyond the initial three hours shall proceed by mutual agreement of the parties and the mediator.”
Does Anything Agreed in the Room Bind Me?
Not until it is written and signed.
Rule 88.08(c) provides that “all mediations shall be non-binding unless the parties enter into a written agreement as provided in Rule 88.08(d).” Discussion in the session is not an agreement, and the local rules add nothing to that. A mediation St Charles County order compels attendance and a process rather than a settlement.
Local Rule 68.16 reinforces the same idea from the other direction, providing that an agreement reached in mediation “is to be based on the decisions of the parties and not the decisions of the mediator,” and that it “can resolve all or only some of the disputed issues.”
Property division is the part that does not come back. Section 452.330.5 RSMo makes the distribution of marital property “a final order not subject to modification,” and the five factor framework the court works from sits in Section 452.330 RSMo. Our page on property and asset division covers what that means in practice.
What Should an Owner or Professional Do Before the Session?
Decide deliberately what goes into the room, because here the financial issues are yours to add.
- Settle the parenting plan question first. An agreed, signed plan at the initial case management conference is what avoids an order altogether
- Read the mediator list before agreeing to a name. It records training and current profession, and Rule 68.18(B) means some listed mediators predate the forty hour requirement
- Diary the ten day disqualification window. It runs from appointment and each party gets one as of right
- Get the valuation work moving separately. A three hour custody mediation is not the venue where a business valuation dispute gets resolved, and our page on divorce for business owners covers what those cases require
- Bring your own counsel. Under Rule 88.06(a) the mediator must advise you in writing that they do not represent you and must advise you to obtain independent legal advice
For the wider process this sits inside, our overview of divorce in Missouri and the Missouri Courts dissolution information page both cover the underlying case steps, and our child custody page covers the issues this circuit actually compels you to mediate.
Who Can Help With Mediation St Charles County Cases?
The date that decides whether mediation gets ordered is the initial case management conference, which means the useful work in a mediation St Charles County case happens well before anyone books a session.
Bardol Law Firm practices only family law and handles mediation and litigation for families in St. Louis County, St. Louis City, St. Charles County and Jefferson County. You can read more about our work in high net worth divorce and the rest of our family law questions and answers.
You should not have to chase your attorney for basic updates with a court date approaching. Every client here has a named paralegal on the file, and we generally return calls within one business day.
Family Law, Simplified.
If your case is in St. Charles and a case management conference is on the calendar, that date is worth a conversation before it arrives rather than after. Contact Bardol Law Firm or call 314.918.0100.
This page is general information about Missouri law and is not legal advice. It was written from the Local Court Rules of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit as published by the court, and local rules change without notice, so confirm the current rules directly. Every case turns on its own facts. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements.