Rule 12.090.Independent Qualification Review
Current through August 1, 2026 · Last verified September 12, 2026
Full Text of Rule 12.090
Plain-English Summary
Some courts contract with domestic relations financial mediators rather than employing them, and UTCR 12.090 adds a review step for those programs. Where the program's domestic relations financial mediators are independent contractors, the determining authority must appoint a panel.
The panel must include at least a representative of the determining authority, a domestic relations financial mediator, and an attorney who practices domestic relations law locally. It interviews each applicant for approval as a domestic relations financial mediator, and its charge is deliberately narrow: decide whether the applicant meets the requirements for approval, or whether it is appropriate to substitute or waive some of the minimum qualifications. The panel then reports its recommendation to the determining authority in writing.
A recommendation is all it is. The rule states that nothing in it affects the authority under UTCR 12.030 to make sole and final determinations about whether an applicant has fulfilled the requirements or whether an application for substitution should be granted.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does a court have to convene an independent qualification review panel?
In programs where domestic relations financial mediators are independent contractors. In those programs the determining authority must appoint a panel to interview applicants for approval as domestic relations financial mediators.
Who sits on the panel?
At a minimum, a representative of the determining authority, a domestic relations financial mediator, and an attorney who practices domestic relations law locally. The rule sets a floor, so a determining authority may appoint more members.
Does the panel decide whether I get approved?
No. The panel reports a recommendation in writing. UTCR 12.090(3) preserves the determining authority's power under UTCR 12.030 to make the sole and final determination about whether an applicant has met the requirements or whether a substitution should be granted.
What can the panel ask about in the interview?
The rule confines the interview to whether the applicant meets the requirements for being approved, or whether it is appropriate to substitute or waive some minimum qualifications. That is the panel's only stated purpose.
Does this review apply to general civil or custody and parenting mediators?
The rule addresses programs where domestic relations financial mediators are independent contractors, and the panel interviews applicants to be approved domestic relations financial mediators. Approval in the other categories runs through the determining authority under UTCR 12.030 without this added step.