A Parenting Consultant (PC) is a neutral third party who is hired by a contract to help advocate for the best interests of children in a custody case. Both parents must agree to the hiring of a parenting consultant, and then the court can order the appointment of a Parenting Consultant. Having a PC appointed to a case can be useful in situations where parties have joint legal custody and struggle with making decisions together such as what school to attend, or in situations where one parent has a chemical dependency issue and the PC needs to help monitor and determine how much visitation that parent should be having with the children.
Although disagreeing parents could bring issues to the court for a decision, that process can often times be very time consuming; and a judge simply cannot meet with teachers and other witnesses in order to talk with them to obtain the information needed to determine what is in the individual children’s best interests. Having a PC who is familiar with the parents, the children, the environment, etc. can be very helpful to have someone helping make decisions who is well-informed on the issue at hand.
Parents always have the ability to come to agreements on their own and implement those decisions, however, a PC may be helpful to have on hand when there are ongoing issues or conflicts that regularly need the attention of a neutral third party. If you think a PC may be helpful in your situation, contact Ken Wasche today for assistance in choosing a PC and drafting a parenting consultant contract.