Dealing with the conflict that arises in separation and divorce situations can be daunting and emotionally challenging, especially when parenting issues are involved. Resolving parenting issues can be even more difficult if one of the parents has a history of high conflict or domestic violence.
Plus, frustration can mount when parents feel that their children are being negatively effected by conflict and disrupted visitation, or harmed by negative feelings and comments towards the other parent.
Mediation Solutions, a subsidiary of Pattison Professional Counseling and Mediation Center, offers you a solution for resolving parenting disputes: parenting coordination. Through parenting coordination, you work with our parenting coordinator in a safe environment to resolve disputes with the other parent or legal guardian outside of the litigation process, saving you money and peace of mind.
What Is Parent Coordination?
Parent coordination is a process where an impartial third party (the parenting coordinator) helps parties implement their parenting plan and resolve disputes between parents and/or legal guardians. A trained and experienced parenting coordinator can be designated by a court order appointment or hired directly by a parent to assist in high conflict divorce situations. The coordinator provides education to both parties, makes recommendations and, with prior approval of the parties and the court, makes decisions within the scope of the court order of appointment.
The parenting coordinator may:
- Educate both parties regarding the developmental needs of the children, the effects of parental separation on family members, co-parenting and parental communication.
- Monitor compliance with the established parenting plan.
- Assist both parties in effectively facilitating their time-sharing arrangements.
- Assist both parties in resolving child-related issues to reduce the potential for future conflict.
The process of parenting coordination is confidential. All communications and discussions are protected by law. The coordinator will only speak with family members, teachers, physicians or anyone who is familiar with the family (who may have relevant information) as designated by the parties involved to assist in resolving the dispute.
Which Issues Can You Address Through Parent Coordination?
During a separation or divorce, and often for some time afterwards, issues may arise between the parties when it comes to parenting their children. Here is a list of some (but not all) issues that your parenting coordinator can help you resolve:
- Visitation plans
- Holiday plans
- Vacation plans
- Phone communications
- Last-minute change in plans
- Doctor / Dental / Therapy visits
- Visiting relatives
- Extracurricular activities
- Household rules and boundaries
How Does Parenting Coordination Benefit You?
At Pattison, our goal is child-centered conflict resolution. Using a parent coordinator will ensure that your child’s best interest is always taken into account when resolving disputes. You will have greater peace of mind knowing that both parties have resolved issues for the well-being of your child.
Parent coordination is also fast and cost-effective. The court system is overburdened with disputes, often taking months to have post-decree issues heard by a judge. In traditional litigation, both parties retain attorneys, custody evaluators and expert witnesses at a high cost to both sides. Using parenting coordination allows both parties to share the cost of the one coordinator and resolve the issues much more quickly and efficiently.
Learning to work through problems with your ex-spouse is healthy for you. The parenting coordinator will provide you with tools that you can use to overcome conflict and challenges, allowing you to rid yourself of relationship baggage and make a fresh start.
How Much Does Parenting Coordination Cost?
The cost for parenting coordination is much, much lower than traditional court room litigation. These costs are out-of-pocket expenses not covered by insurance plans and are usually split evenly between the parties involved.
Here is our fee schedule for parenting coordination:
- $130.00 per hour (Each parent should attend the first session individually)
- Reading documents, emailing and phone calls are billed in 15-minute increments