Parent Coordination in North Carolina
In North Carolina, a judge can appoint a parenting coordinator at any time in a child custody action. The parties may agree to the appointment of a parenting coordinator, or the judge may appoint a parenting coordinator in a high-conflict custody case if the parties are able to pay for the cost of a parenting coordinator and if it is in the best interests of the children in the case.
The authority of the parenting coordinator is set out in the order appointing the parenting coordinator and is limited to matters that will help the parties comply with the custody order and resolving disputes regarding issues that were not specifically addressed in the parties’ custody order or are ambiguous or conflicting in the order. In most cases, the parenting coordinator’s scope of authority includes resolving disputes between the parties over issues like health care, extra-curricular activities, or education.
Parenting coordinators work with the parties in the custody action (usually the parents but may include other third parties who have custodial rights). The court determines how the fees for the parenting coordinator will be divided, but typically in a custody action involving two parents, the fees are divided equally.
Parenting coordinators are required to be certified to be included on the district court’s list of parenting coordinators. These Wake Family Law Group attorneys are certified parent coordinators:
(919) 787-4811