On an average day, parents are faced with hundreds of decisions to be made for their children. One of the hardest parts of co-parenting involves making joint decisions for your children when parents are living apart.
If you are feeling like the other parent is constantly undermining your every move, and that every issue, even the most minor one involves threats of litigation, your current approach to decision making is not effective. There is, however; a solution available to parents—the appointment of a Parent Coordinator.
What is a Parent Coordinator?
A Parent Coordinator is either appointed by the Court or mutually agreed upon by the parties or their lawyers. Parent Coordinators are specially trained to resolve disputes in high-conflict custody matters. Instead of long drawn out court battles, Parent Coordinators can draft a parenting plan, monitor continued compliance of the parenting plan, and can help resolve minor disputes between parents. Most importantly, when the parents cannot reach a consensus, the Parent Coordinator has the ability to decide on their behalf.
Parent Coordinators cannot decide physical or legal custody matters, as those decisions must be made by the parents or the Court. A Parent Coordinator can resolve disputes regarding minor modifications to an existing access schedule, the selection of extracurricular activities, and other pressing, time-sensitive matters that cannot wait for a court hearing.
Parent Coordinator vs. Mediation
Parent Coordinators are neutral, but they are not impartial. They can decide if the parties cannot reach an agreement. To the contrary, mediators are impartial and cannot decide for the parties if they’re unable to reach an agreement.
The Parent Coordination process is not confidential, which means the Parent Coordinator can be subpoenaed to testify in Court regarding one party’s compliance with the process or lack thereof. Mediation, on the other hand, is confidential and nothing said in mediation can be testified to at trial.
Parent Coordination Services
I am a trained Parent Coordinator who can assist parents in making important decisions for their children outside of court. Instead of the relentless bickering and massive legal and court fees, I can help parents reach a resolution in a timely manner.
My foremost concern is to uphold the best interest of the children. I can help parents negotiate and facilitate final decisions that embrace and adhere meaningful parent-child relationships. In short, I can bring order and a sense of calm, to the otherwise chaos and breakdown of the family unit.
Why You Need a Parent Coordinator
Co-parenting does not mean you have to like each other, but it does mean you need to find commonalities. Parent Coordination is a wonderful tool to help parents make decisions in a timely and child-focused manner.
If you have questions about Parent Coordination, please contact Wasserman Family Law at 410-842-1070 or laurie@wassermanlawoffice.com. We practice in jurisdictions throughout the State of Maryland.