In the latest Weekly Wright Report:

Parent Coordination: A Resource for Co-Parents During Litigation and Beyond

By: Mollie G Caplis

I think everyone can agree that parenting is our most important yet challenging job.  Putting aside long range decisions such as whether you should enroll a child in a private school or whether a child should take a particular medication and/or participate in mental health therapy, there are countless day-to-day decisions involved in parenting.  For example, we, as parents, inevitably establish rules and routines for a child about nutrition, bedtime, screen time, and homework, as well as participation in sports and other extracurricular activities.

It is not surprising that when co-parents share joint legal custody, their perspectives may differ and lines of communication may be broken down as the result of contentious litigation or simply the break-up of a relationship.  Experienced family law attorneys and the Court know that it is not the parents, but the child, who suffers the most damage from high conflict custody cases.  To mitigate this potential damage, parent coordination is a process in which parties work with a parenting coordinator to reduce the effects, or potential effects, of conflict on a child.

A parenting coordinator may get appointed by a court in two scenarios: (1) at the request of one or both parties, or on a court’s own initiative, during the pendency of a custody or divorce case; and (2) upon the entry of a judgment granting or modifying custody or visitation, provided that the parties consent to the appointment, the duration of which may not exceed two years unless the parties and the parenting coordinator agree in writing to an extension for a specified longer period.  A parenting coordinator may help parties develop an agreed plan for custody and visitation if there is no such order in place.  If there is a custody and visitation order in place, a parenting coordinator may help resolve disputes about the interpretation of and compliance with the order and, in some situations, can even make minor, temporary changes to a child access provision of an order.  In either scenario, a parenting coordinator educates co-parents about making and implementing decisions that are in the best interest of the child; recommends resources such as classes, books, and other online tools; and helps to develop communication protocols, all in furtherance of the penultimate goal of parent coordination, i.e., to reduce the effects or potential effects of conflict on the parties’ child.

There are particular requirements regarding age, education, and professional experience in order to be approved as a parenting coordinator.  Additionally, there is established training that must be completed, which involves at least 20 hours of family mediation training as well as at least 40 hours of accredited specialty training in topics related to parenting coordination, such as conflict coaching, dynamics of high conflict families, and problem-solving techniques.

I am pleased to announce that I am now offering parent coordination as part of my family law practice.  Should you have any questions about the parenting coordination process, please do not hesitate to contact me at mcaplis@wcslaw.com or 410.659.1325.