§ 598.16

598.16 Conciliation — domestic relations divisions. 1. A majority of the judges in any judicial district, with the cooperation of any county board of supervisors in the district, may establish a domestic relations division of the districtcourt of the county where the board is located. The division shall offer counseling and relatedservices to persons before the court. 2. The court may on its own motion or upon the motion of a party require the parties to participate in conciliation efforts for a period of sixty days or less following the issuance of anorder setting forth the conciliation procedure and the conciliator. In making a determinationunder this section, the court shall consider all relevant factors including but not limited towhether a history of abuse or violence exists. 3. Every order for conciliation shall require the conciliator to file a written report by a date certain which shall state the conciliation procedures undertaken and such othermatters as may have been required by the court. The report shall be a part of the recordunless otherwise ordered by the court. Such conciliation procedure may include but is notlimited to referrals to the domestic relations

required by the court. The report shall be a part of the recordunless otherwise ordered by the court. Such conciliation procedure may include but is notlimited to referrals to the domestic relations division of the court, if established, public orprivate marriage counselors, family service agencies, community health centers, physiciansand clergy. 4. The costs of conciliation procedures shall be paid in full or in part by the parties and taxed as court costs; however, if the court determines that the parties will be unable to pay thecosts without prejudicing their financial ability to provide themselves and any minor childrenwith economic necessities, the costs may be paid in full or in part by the county. 5. Persons providing counseling and other services pursuant to this section are not court employees, but are subject to court supervision. [C71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §598.16]83 Acts, ch 123, §194, 209; 83 Acts, ch 186, §10110, 10201; 93 Acts, ch 54, §11; 2007 Acts, ch 180, §1; 2014 Acts, ch 1107, §18; 2017 Acts, ch 43, §5; 2019 Acts, ch 63, §1 Referred to in §331.424, 598.5, 602.11101 Sat Dec 23 11:10:03 2023 Iowa Code 2024, Section 598.16 (21, 0)