After a judge has issued an order for child custody and parenting time, the judge may also appoint a parenting coordinator to assist the father and mother in resolving disputes that may arise later. A parenting coordinator is a neutral third party, usually a child psychologist or a lawyer who has extensive experience in child custody cases. When a dispute arises that is not clearly addressed in the parenting plan or Court orders, a parenting coordinator meets with the father and mother either in person or over the phone and tries to help them reach an agreement.
If the father and mother are unable to reach an agreement, the parenting coordinator makes a recommendation to the judge as to how the dispute should be resolved. The judge then typically signs/approves the recommendation as a temporary Court order subject to the right of either party to request a hearing in front of the judge.
The primary benefit of having a parenting coordinator is that many disputes can be resolved without the parties engaging lawyers to take those disputes before the judge. Even when the father and mother are unable to agree on a resolution, however, the use of a parenting coordinator allows for a quick, albeit temporary, resolution of the dispute while the parties wait for the judge to hear the issue.
Some common disputes which are presented to a parenting coordinator may include disagreements over vacation or holiday parenting time, disagreements regarding placement of the children in certain extracurricular activities, and disagreements regarding parenting time transportation issues. Parenting coordinators do not have authority to recommend changes in legal custody or significant changes in parenting time.
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