Washington § 26.14.120 Powers and duties of arbitrator.

Washington Statutes

§ 26.14.120 — Powers and duties of arbitrator.

Washington § 26.14.120

Title 26DOMESTIC RELATIONS

Ch. 26.14UNIFORM FAMILY LAW ARBITRATION ACT

This text of Washington § 26.14.120 (Powers and duties of arbitrator.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Wash. Rev. Code § 26.14.120 (2026).

Text

(1)An arbitrator shall conduct an arbitration in a manner the arbitrator considers appropriate for a fair and expeditious disposition of the dispute.

(2)An arbitrator shall provide each party a right to be heard and to present evidence material to the family law dispute.

(3)Unless the parties otherwise agree in a record, an arbitrator's powers include the power to:

(a)Select the rules for conducting the arbitration;

(b)Hold conferences with the parties before a hearing;

(c)Determine the date, time, and place of a hearing;

(d)Require a party to provide:

(i)A copy of a relevant court order;

(ii)Information required to be disclosed in a family law proceeding under law of this state other than this chapter; and

(iii)A proposed award that addresses each issue in arbitration;

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(1) An arbitrator shall conduct an arbitration in a manner the arbitrator considers appropriate for a fair and expeditious disposition of the dispute.

(2) An arbitrator shall provide each party a right to be heard and to present evidence material to the family law dispute.

(3) Unless the parties otherwise agree in a record, an arbitrator's powers include the power to:

(a) Select the rules for conducting the arbitration;

(b) Hold conferences with the parties before a hearing;

(c) Determine the date, time, and place of a hearing;

(d) Require a party to provide:

(i) A copy of a relevant court order;

(ii) Information required to be disclosed in a family law proceeding under law of this state other than this chapter; and

(iii) A proposed award that addresses each issue in arbitration;

(e) Appoint a private expert at the expense of the parties;

(f) Administer an oath or affirmation and issue a subpoena for the attendance of a witness or the production of documents and other evidence at a hearing;

(g) Compel discovery concerning the family law dispute and determine the date, time, and place of discovery;

(h) Determine the admissibility and weight of evidence;

(i) Permit deposition of a witness for use as evidence at a hearing;

(j) Issue a protective order to prevent the disclosure of privileged information, confidential information, and other information protected from disclosure as if the controversy were the subject of a civil action in this state;

(k) Appoint an attorney, guardian ad litem, or other representative for a child at the expense of the parties;

(l) Impose a procedure to protect a party or child from risk of harm, harassment, or intimidation;

(m) Allocate arbitration fees, attorneys' fees, expert witness fees, and other costs to the parties; and

(n) Impose a sanction on a party for bad faith or misconduct during the arbitration according to standards governing imposition of a sanction for litigant misconduct in a family law proceeding.

(4) An arbitrator may not allow ex parte communication except to the extent allowed in a family law proceeding for communication with a judge.