{"data":{"id":"us-wa/rcw-26.14.120","jurisdiction":"us-wa","citation":"RCW 26.14.120","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 and to present evidence material to the family law dispute.\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 law of this state other than this chapter; and\n(iii) A proposed award that addresses each issue in arbitration;\n(e) Appoint a private expert at the expense of the parties;\n(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;\n(g) Compel discovery concerning the family law dispute and determine the date, time, and place of discovery;\n(h) Determine the admissibility and weight of evidence;\n(i) Permit deposition of a witness for use as evidence at a hearing;\n(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;\n(k) Appoint an attorney, guardian ad litem, or other representative for a child at the expense of the parties;\n(l) Impose a procedure to protect a party or child from risk of harm, harassment, or intimidation;\n(m) Allocate arbitration fees, attorneys' fees, expert witness fees, and other costs to the parties; and\n(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.\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 26","Chapter 26.14"],"source_url":"https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=26.14.120","current_through":"July 15, 2026","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-06T01:41:06Z","sha256":"ff34f003e58f02f0711e12763d55c4e510d7f1902e24cbb8b08fd553af08a736","source_id":"us-wa","stale":false,"prev":"us-wa/rcw-26.14.110","next":"us-wa/rcw-26.14.130"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}