Parenting Coordination Returns to Pennsylvania
Custody agreements and co-parenting during and after divorce can be a source of flare-ups between parents who are no longer spouses. Not all divorced persons see their parenting role the same after they cease living as a family unit.
Towards this end, Pennsylvania has reinstated the use of a parent coordinator in custody matters, effective March 1, 2019. A parent coordinator is, by the law’s definition (Rule 1915.11-1), a trained attorney or mental health professional who “shall attempt to resolve issues arising out of the custody order by facilitating an agreement between the parties and, if unable to reach an agreement, recommend a resolution to the court.”
Not every custody matter will require a parent coordinator; one can be assigned by the court, or requested by either party (with certain provisos noted below) if custody disagreements repeatedly end up in court. In any case, the parent coordinator is not meant to be used for more than 12 months at a time.
Coordinators are paid on an hourly basis at a rate established by the county courts. For some divorced parents, hiring a coordinator offers a cheaper, faster way to resolve ongoing custody tensions – but they are not a substitute for legal representation or actions to modify existing Custody Orders. Rather, they are meant to help the parties negotiate the many, small logistical and philosophical variances parents might have within an existing Custody Order.
The parents must have first tried to resolve the issue on their own without success prior to hiring a Parent Coordinator, who reports back to the Court with recommendations.
Examples of areas where a Parent Coordinator may be useful are: smoothing along custody handoff issues, holiday issues and run-of-the-mill day to day variations such as handling a parent who is late or early or must ask the other parent for lenience on a given day or week.
Coordinators also will be able to help coordinate child(ren)’s participation in recreation or extracurricular activities as well as school issues (excluding school selection), vacation travel, make information exchange between the parents more productive and less explosive, and coordinate court-ordered services for the child(ren), such as psychological services.
As stated above, parent coordinators are meant to help an existing custody order work for the family. They are not a substitute for hiring a lawyer when a parent is seeking a change to the custody order, such as: when one parent wants to relocate the child or change schools; or a change in the amount of custody one parent has is sought. These matters must still be handled by petitioning the Court and attending a Custody Conference and, if necessary, a Custody Hearing.
The Court can assign a parenting coordinator, but each parent has the right to object. If domestic violence has already been registered through the vehicle of a Protection from Abuse or criminal charges, a parenting coordinator cannot be appointed. And the parenting coordinator functions somewhat as a mediator by streamlining communications between parties and keeping correspondence in writing and addressed to both parties, in order to maintain transparency. Parenting coordination communication is not sealed and is admissible in court.
If you are struggling with ongoing or repeated custody disagreements with your ex, in spite of a standing Custody Order, a parenting coordinator may be helpful to you. Contact my office at 215-345-5259 for a free first consult, and we can discuss your custody situation.
-Elissa C. Goldberg, Esquire
Law Office of Elissa C. Goldberg
107 North Broad Street, Suite 211
Doylestown, PA 18901