Rule 12.120.Domestic Relations Financial Mediation Training

UTCR 12.120 describes the training a domestic relations financial mediator needs beyond the general mediation curricula. It requires at least 40 hours of training or education covering the topics relevant to the financial issues the mediator will be mediating.

The subject list is concrete. It reaches legal and financial issues in separation, divorce, and family reorganization in Oregon, including property division, asset valuation, public benefits law, domestic relations income tax law, child and spousal support, and joint and several liability for family debt. It reaches the basics of corporate and partnership law, retirement interests, personal bankruptcy, ethics including the unauthorized practice of law, drafting, and legal process including disclosure problems. And it reaches the needs of self-represented parties, the desirability of review by independent attorneys, recognizing the finality of a judgment, and methods to carry out the parties' agreement.

The rule then divides the hours. Twenty-four of them must be in an integrated training, which the rule defines as a training designed as a single cohesive curriculum that may be delivered over time. Six hours must be in three role plays in financial mediation with trainer feedback to the trainee. Fifteen hours must be in training accredited by the Oregon State Bar. The rule frames each of these as a portion of the training required by subsection (1), not as hours added on top of it.