Is Mediation Required in St. Louis County?
Yes, and mediation required in St. Louis County reaches further than in any other circuit around St. Louis, because the rule covers maintenance and property division and not only custody.
Local Rule 68.14 of the 21st Judicial Circuit puts every contested domestic relations and paternity case into mediation unless good cause is shown. That matters most to a business owner, a professional, or anyone with a substantial marital estate, because the financial half of the case is in scope from the start.
This page was written from the Rule 68 chapter published by the 21st Circuit carrying a footer date of 14 January 2026. Local rules change without announcement, so confirm the current rule before relying on it.
Does It Really Cover Property and Maintenance?
Yes, and the rule names both of them.
Local Rule 68.14 requires that “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, the parties shall be required to participate in mediation as an alternative dispute resolution method, unless the mediator or the parties show good cause why, or the court, on its own motion, determines, that mediation should not occur.”
Note the words including, but not limited to. The named issues are examples rather than a closed list, so the reach of the rule is wider than the six things it happens to mention.
That is what makes mediation required in St. Louis County different from the neighbouring circuits. St. Louis City requires it where custody or visitation is a genuine and substantial issue. St. Charles County and Jefferson County reach contested custody and visitation. Only the 21st Circuit names the money.
The state rule is what permits it. Missouri Supreme Court Rule 88.02 provides that “any judicial circuit may elect to establish a mediation program for contested issues, including, but not limited to, child custody, parenting time, parenting plans, child support, maintenance, and property division, in domestic relations and paternity cases.”
For an owner in Clayton the practical point is blunt. If the value of your company is contested, the case is going to mediation on that issue, and it is not a voluntary alternative you can decline. Our FAQ on mediating a business valuation dispute covers how to prepare the valuation question before the session rather than during it.
What Is Form 15 and When Is It Due?
It is the form that tells the court where your case stands on mediation, and the first one is due 90 days in.
Local Rule 68.14(13)(A) requires that “ninety (90) days from the date of original service of summons or the filing of an entry of appearance or after a finding of paternity, the parties shall file a Form 15 with the Court.” The form certifies one of six things.
- There are no contested issues of custody, parenting time, parenting plans, child support, maintenance or property division
- The parties have voluntarily participated in mediation
- The parties have agreed on a mediator, naming them, and have a session scheduled
- The parties cannot agree on a mediator
- A party is requesting an exemption from the rule
- The case is not ripe for mediation and an extension of time is requested
Then it repeats. Local Rule 68.14(13)(B) provides that “a new Form 15 must be filed every sixty (60) days until the case is mediated.” The court’s own Form 15 page carries the current version.
Keep the two intervals apart, because they get confused. Ninety days is the first filing. Sixty days is the refiling interval after that.
Can My Case Be Set for Trial Before Mediation?
No, and this is the provision that decides your calendar.
Local Rule 68.14(13)(F) provides that “a case subject to this mediation requirement may not be set for trial on the merits until the Form 15 has been filed and the requirements of this rule have been satisfied.”
There is an earlier gate as well. Local Rule 68.14(13)(E) requires that “unless an extension of time is requested as set out above in 13(A)(f) and granted, the mediation process must be completed and/or scheduled with the mediator and the Form 15 filed with the Court no later than the date of the first case conference.”
Mediation is not a step you can park at the end of the case. It sits in front of the trial setting, which means the financial work that makes a mediation useful has to start earlier than most people expect. Our page on the St. Louis County Family Court covers the wider local process.
How Do You Comply With the Rule?
Three routes, and one of them is not what most people assume it is.
- Agree on a private mediator. The parties jointly pick one from the court’s master list, and the rule describes this as confidential mediation
- Have the court order one. The court appoints from the same master list, also described as confidential mediation
- Use Domestic Relations Services. The parties are ordered to work with Domestic Relations Services in the Family Court to develop a custody plan
Where nobody has voluntarily mediated and no exemption has been granted, Local Rule 68.14(13)(D) lets the court order mediation and appoint a qualified mediator, or refer the parties to Domestic Relations Services.
The mediator is neutral throughout and decides nothing. Under Missouri Supreme Court Rule 88.06, the mediator has to explain that they do not represent either party, and has to advise each person in writing to get their own legal advice.
Why Does the Free Option Say Confidential Somewhere Else?
Because the court’s own documents disagree with each other, and this is the single most practical thing on this page.
Local Rule 68.14 states plainly that “the use of Domestic Relations Services is not confidential.” The court’s Notice of Mediation Services for Parents, carrying a revision marker of 08/17, describes a limited number of hours of free, confidential mediation services for parents.
Two other documents side with the rule. The January 2026 rule text is the later of the two, and the court’s Form 15, revision 08/23, states that developing a parenting plan through Domestic Relations Services is not considered confidential mediation.
So the newer rule and the newer form agree against the older notice. Ask the court directly before using the free option, and do not assume a free service carries the same protections as a private mediation. Our FAQ on mediation confidentiality in Missouri covers what Rule 88.08 actually protects.
Can the Requirement Be Waived?
There is a good cause route, and nothing about it is automatic.
Local Rule 68.14 allows mediation to be avoided where the mediator or the parties show good cause, or where the court on its own motion decides it should not occur, and the rule names domestic violence, abuse and a significant imbalance of negotiating power as things that can amount to good cause.
Local Rule 68.14(13)(C) supplies the mechanism. A party applies through Form 15 and the court decides.
That distinction is the one that catches people. A safety concern or a power imbalance does not cancel the requirement by itself. It has to be raised through the process, and the court rules on it case by case.
Section 452.372.2 RSMo separately treats a court finding of domestic violence or abuse as good cause for not ordering alternative dispute resolution. If mediation may not be safe or appropriate, raise it before a mediator is appointed rather than after. Our page on when divorce mediation may not be your best option covers what to discuss with counsel first.
What Should a Business Owner Do Before the Session?
Arrive with the financial record organized, because mediation required in St. Louis County puts property and maintenance on the table whether the valuation work is finished or not.
- The returns. Business and personal, several years of each, plus K-1 forms
- The statements. Financial statements, loan documents and ownership documents
- The compensation history. Salary, distributions and any benefit the company pays for
Then work out the valuation question even if you cannot yet answer it. You may not have a final number before the session, and that is normal. What you need is to understand the competing approaches and know which records support which position. A mediator can help you negotiate. A mediator will not pick a valuation method for you.
Keep three questions apart while you do it. Classification asks whether an asset is marital or separate. Valuation asks what it is worth. Division asks how the marital estate gets allocated. Running them together is the most common way an owner loses ground in a session. Our page on marital versus separate property covers the first of the three.
And decide what you actually need. For most owners the priority is the company continuing to operate rather than a particular percentage of it, and that changes how everything else on the table gets traded.
What Does the Mediation Requirement Not Decide?
Three things, and the rule is silent on all of them.
It does not make anything binding. Rule 88.08(c) provides that all mediations are non binding unless the parties enter a written agreement, and our FAQ on whether a mediated agreement is binding covers what has to happen before it is.
It does not require you to stay. Under Rule 88.07(a), “at any time after two hours of mediation either party may terminate mediation ordered under Rule 88.04.”
And it does not decide who pays for it, which the local rule leaves to the court. Ask how the fee question is being handled in your case rather than assuming.
Who Can Help With Mediation in St. Louis County?
Because the 21st Circuit’s rule reaches property and maintenance, a mediation in Clayton is often the most consequential day in a business owner’s case, and it usually arrives before anybody feels ready for it.
Bardol Law Firm practices only family law and handles mediation and litigation in St. Louis County, St. Louis City, St. Charles County and Jefferson County. We prepare the financial record for a session rather than improvising in one. You can read more about our work for business owners, about high net worth divorce, and about property and asset division.
You should not be chasing your attorney with a Form 15 deadline running. Every client here has a named paralegal on the file, and we generally return calls within one business day.
Family Law, Simplified.
If a Form 15 deadline is approaching, that is the moment to start the financial work rather than the moment to worry about it. Contact Bardol Law Firm or call 314.918.0100.
This page is general information about Missouri law and is not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements.