{"data":{"id":"us-mt/40-16-113","jurisdiction":"us-mt","citation":"40-16-113","heading":"Powers and duties of arbitrator.","body":"(1) An arbitrator shall conduct an arbitration in a manner the arbitrator considers appropriate for a fair and expeditious disposition of the dispute.\n(2) An arbitrator shall provide each party a right to be heard, to present evidence material to the family law dispute, and to cross-examine witnesses.\n(3) Unless the parties otherwise agree in a record, an arbitrator's powers include the power to:\n(a) select the rules for conducting the arbitration;\n(b) hold conferences with the parties before a hearing;\n(c) determine the date, time, and place of a hearing;\n(d) require a party to provide:\n(i) a copy of a relevant court order;\n(ii) information required to be disclosed in a family law proceeding under Title 40; and\n(iii) a proposed award that addresses each issue in arbitration;\n(e) meet with or interview a child who is the subject of a child-related dispute;\n(f) appoint a private expert at the expense of the parties;\n(g) 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;\n(h) compel discovery concerning the family law dispute and determine the date, time, and place of discovery;\n(i) determine the admissibility and weight of evidence;\n(j) permit deposition of a witness for use as evidence at a hearing;\n(k) for good cause, prohibit a party from disclosing information;\n(l) appoint an attorney, guardian ad litem, or other representative for a child at the expense of the parties;\n(m) impose a procedure to protect a party or child from risk of harm, harassment, or intimidation;\n(n) allocate arbitration fees, attorney's fees, expert witness fees, and other costs for the parties; and\n(o) 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.\n(4) An arbitrator may not allow ex parte communication except to the extent allowed in a family law proceeding for communication with a judge.","path":["TITLE 40. FAMILY LAW","CHAPTER 16. FAMILY LAW ARBITRATION","Part 1. Uniform Family Law Arbitration Act"],"source_url":"https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0400/chapter_0160/part_0010/section_0130/0400-0160-0010-0130.html","current_through":"Montana Code Annotated 2025","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T04:55:03Z","sha256":"89fbebdcf64e45faef383831743d695f91bbb4366850d1b670ac7f1ecfc75621","source_id":"us-mt","stale":false,"prev":"us-mt/40-16-112","next":"us-mt/40-16-114"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}