Whitley County Courts, Indiana Pre-Motion Conference Requirements

A custody evaluation cannot be conducted, ordered, or requested until cooperative approaches such as mediation have been exhausted.

However, no custody evaluation may be conducted, ordered by the Court, or requested by any party unless and until cooperative approaches, such as mediation, have been exhausted.

Before a provisional-orders hearing is scheduled, the parties or counsel must attempt to resolve all provisional matters by Agreed Entry; if they have not met, the hearing will be vacated until they comply.

Before a date and time is set for hearing on a Motion for Provisional Orders, the parties or their counsel shall attempt to resolve all provisional matters by way of Agreed Entry. At the beginning of each provisional order hearing, the parties will be asked if a meeting to attempt to resolve the matter has occurred. If not, the hearing will be vacated and a new hearing date shall be set once the parties have complied with this rule.

Post-dissolution petitions or counter-petitions and juvenile-paternity actions seeking custody or parenting-time changes must involve a custody evaluation and/or be referred immediately to mediation.

All post-dissolution petitions or counter- petitions, or juvenile paternity actions which seek a modification of child custody or an alteration of parenting time shall involve a child custody evaluation and/or shall be immediately referred to mediation.

Mediation is required before setting a juvenile-paternity or dissolution matter for final hearing absent good cause, and a contested final hearing cannot be set after referral until the court receives the mediator’s written report.

It is the policy of Whitley County courts to require mediation in juvenile paternity and dissolution matters before setting the matter for final hearing, absent good cause shown. Once a case is referred to mediation, it shall not be set for contested final hearing until the court receives a written report from the mediator.