Estatutos Seleccionados: South Dakota

In any custody or visitation dispute between parents, the court shall order mediation to assist the parties in formulating or modifying a plan, or in implementing a plan, for custody or visitation and shall allocate the cost of the mediation between the parties. However, mediation shall not be ordered if:

The court may also direct that an investigation be conducted to assist the court in making a custody or visitation determination and shall allocate the costs of such investigation between the parties. A history of domestic abuse may only be proven by greater convincing force of the evidence.