Parents who have difficulty communicating or cooperating with each other after a custody order is entered may benefit from having a parenting coordinator appointed in their case. A parenting coordinator helps parents to resolve conflicts under the custody order, including what activities their child will engage in, whether a temporary variation to the custody schedule will be made for a special event, childcare arrangements when a parent can’t personally care for the child, how and when the child’s clothing and personal items will move between households, and more.
These relatively minor issues can cause the parents great stress and cause them to incur significant fees and costs if they have to go to court to resolve them. The children also suffer from conflict and stress between their parents. The parenting coordinator can help to alleviate this stress by guiding the parties to a resolution or, if they can’t agree, calling the “balls and strikes” on these issues, subject to the court’s review.
The parenting coordinator does not make decisions concerning major issues affecting the child’s health, education, or religion, and does not make any permanent changes to the legal or physical custody provisions of the custody order.
A parenting coordinator can be appointed by agreement of the parties or, even if they don’t agree, at the request of a parent when the parties have repeated or intractable conflict that affects their ability to follow the custody order. Unless the parties consent and appropriate safety measures are in place to protect the participants, the court will not appoint a parenting coordinator if the parties have a protection from abuse order in effect, or the court makes a finding that a party has been the victim of domestic violence perpetrated by a party to the custody action within the last 36 months, or a party has been the victim of a personal injury crime by the other party. The court will generally allocate the parenting coordinator’s fee between the parties subject to reallocation by the parenting coordinator due to the unreasonable conduct of a parent.
A parenting coordinator must be approved by the court after undergoing training in the parenting coordination process, mediation, and domestic violence. The parenting coordinator must obtain additional training in parenting coordination and domestic violence after their initial approval.
At the Center for Family Resolution, Parenting Coodinator Shelly Grossman, Esq. has 30 years of family law experience, enabling her to approach legal matters with a broad-based perspective in her role as a neutral or advocate, as well as an appreciation for the nuances required to guide parties to resolution.
If you are interested in learning about how to get a parenting coordinator appointed in your Pennsylvania custody case, contact the Center for Family Resolution here or call us at (484) 886-4600. We are conveniently located in downtown West Chester, PA.