A parenting coordinator is an individual who is appointed by the court in custody cases to assist in executing and enforcing ancillary issues of a custody order. Parenting coordination has become a hot issue in the area of Pennsylvania child custody. It is also a controversial issue. The controversy is multifaceted. One of the issues is whether a parenting coordinator making decisions is tantamount to an improper delegation of judicial decision-making authority. Another issue is whether a parenting coordinator must be an attorney or whether the parenting coordinator may also be a mental health professional.
The seminal case regarding parenting coordination is the case of Yates v. Yates, 963 A.2d 535 (Pa. Super. 2008). In Yates, the state Superior Court held that a trial court may appoint a parenting coordinator in cases with high-conflict parents who have trouble making parenting decisions on their own. The Superior Court limited the parenting coordinator’s authority to ancillary custody issues and not core issues such as legal and physical custody determinations. The Superior Court in Yates further held that a de novo review of a parenting coordinator’s decision must be utilized if the parties are dissatisfied with the parenting coordinator’s decision.
