- Arbitrating parents, kids
Don't laugh, this might be a good business to get into. They're called professional parenting coordinators and they make decisions - usually for divorced couple - on stuff like who picks the kids up from school, what summer camps they should attend, and whether boyfriends or girlfriends should spend the night. As explained by the WSJ, parenting coordinators are usually recommended by family-court judges or lawyers, but in some cases their use can be mandated by the court. Fees are running anywhere from about $50 to $350 an hour (I’ll take the Beverly Hills franchise, please).
Some of the issues parenting coordinators help resolve may be minor, but if left unaddressed, they can be the source of nasty fights that wind up in the courthouse, cost thousands of dollars in legal fees and clog family-court dockets. Robert Ross, supervising judge of the Nassau County, N.Y., matrimonial courts, had a case several weeks ago in which one parent was furious that the other parent was taking their child to McDonald's rather than Burger King. "We have a limited amount of time during the day to deal with really important stuff," says Judge Ross. In the past few years, he says, parenting coordinators have helped reduce visits to his court over relatively small issues.
Parenting coordinators typically hold regular meetings or email or phone conversations with parents, either individually or together, and they sometimes meet with the kids to get their point of view. They observe clients' parenting and communication styles and try to teach parents how to communicate more effectively, documenting their progress. Above all, they say, they try to help parents resolve disputed issues themselves. But if parents still can't agree, the coordinator can often make the final call. Some parents and legal professionals worry that parenting coordinators may only complicate a conflict or that they may have too much authority, making some decisions best left to judges. Still, as awareness of parenting coordinators improves among lawyers and judges, the field is growing.
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| 11:15 AM Sep 19, 2007 | Email the Daily Dragon | Email this Article | Post Comments |
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