PARENTING COORDINATOR'S ROLE IN RESOLVING CUSTODY CONFLICTS

HOST: Beverly Price, Divorce & Empowerment Coach

GUEST: Jaime Davis, Co-Managing Partner at Gailor Hunt and Host of A Year and a Day: Divorce without Destruction

SUMMARY:

A parenting coordinator plays a crucial role in helping divorcing parents navigate the often tumultuous terrain of co-parenting after a divorce. Their primary objective is to assist in making decisions related to child custody, visitation, and other parenting matters in an amicable and child-focused manner. They act as neutral third-party facilitators, using their expertise in family law and child development to help parents reach mutually beneficial agreements. In this episode of Her Empowered Divorce, your Host, Beverly Price, talks to Jaime Davis, a Co-Managing Partner at Gailor Hunt and Host of A Year and a Day: Divorce without Destruction. Together, they discuss parenting coordinators, who they are, and their role in fostering a more collaborative and harmonious co-parenting relationship to create a stable and supportive environment for children's growth and well-being.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

●     Who is a parenting coordinator, and what role do they play in family law cases? A parenting coordinator is a neutral third party who has received training to become a parenting coordinator. In high cases involving the custody of children, the court can appoint a parenting coordinator to assist the parents in making decisions for their kids.

●     The different areas of authority that a parenting coordinator can help with can range from pick-up time for the child, health care management, and communication between parents and children. However, their scope of authority can vary from case to case.

●     What is the difference between a parenting coordinator and a parenting coach? A parent coordinator's decision is usually like a binding court order. So if a parenting coordinator issues a directive and one of the parents does not follow it, the other parent can ask for a baby holding contempt for violating the directive. A parenting coach is more focused on getting the parents to work together and facilitating communication.

●     Do parenting coordinators take over all the decisions when the conflict is great and the parents are far apart? Each parent coordinator does it differently, but regardless of the level of acrimony, it is very important that the parents try to agree on the issues first, and when they can't the parent coordinator can step in and be the tiebreaker.

NOTABLE QUOTES:

●     When a couple is getting a divorce, decisions for the kids can be some of the things being disagreed about. In these types of cases, a parenting coordinator can be very helpful by being the tiebreaker when mum and dad disagree on a decision for the child. (Jaime)

●     One of the benefits of having a parent coordinator is that the children can have what they need in a more timely manner. (Jaime)

●     Your parenting coordinator is going to be making the decision when you and your partner disagree on things. It is almost like having a third parent in the relationship. (Jaime)

●     Part of the parent coordinator's job is to work themselves out of a job, getting parents to a place where they can make decisions without them and their children because they know what is best for their family. (Jaime)

●     At any time during a custody dispute, either parent can ask the court to appoint a parent coordinator, and the court