Often in family law, some of the most difficult issues to resolve may be some of the most ordinary, day-to-day issues that arise between two parents co-parenting their children. For many reasons, including time and expense, judges face significant limitations upon their abilities to successfully address day-to-day parental decisions and interactions. In these circumstances, the court may appoint a parenting coordinator to exercise direct authority over the parents and their day-to-day decisions and interactions. The parenting coordinator maintains quasi-judicial authority to decide certain issues when disputes arise, although either parent reserves the right to challenge the parenting coordinator’s decision before the judge. Parenting coordinators may be appointed by the court with the consent of the parents or, in the absence of the parents’ consent, by the court if the court finds that the case is a high-conflict case. Certainly, parents rarely agree with each and every decision the parenting coordinator makes, but many, nonetheless, still find value in the fact that a particular dispute has been resolved.
To learn more about parenting coordination, contact Chapel Hill Family Law by phone at (919) 419-1244 or by e-mail at info@chapelhillfamilylaw.com.