Parental coordination process in divorce proceedings
A huge number of children are affected every year due to the inevitable crisis caused by parental separation and legal proceedings. Divorce Hardworking. Many of those children will grow up with parents who will continue to be in severe conflict with each other.
Of these, many will be exposed to legal processes in which the children will be a significant bone of contention. Thus, common issues of contention may be guardianship, custody Visual arrangements, hazards and more.
Children exposed to the tensions and severe conflict between their parents can develop significant emotional and behavioral problems that, without professional treatment, may accompany them throughout their lives.
This period is often described by divorcing parents as the worst time in the children’s lives, with a severe damage to the trust and respect they feel for their parents.
In most cases, the legal process is long and tedious for both parties, especially for the children, who are caught up in the parents’ divorce proceedings against their will.
The children experience emotional and mental confusion in light of the breakdown of the family unit and the struggles between the parents. In order to minimize the harm to the children, many divorcing families are referred to the Home Family Law To work with a parent coordinator.
Parental coordination is actually a professional therapeutic service, provided by a qualified and experienced therapist, which has a distinct legal nature.
What does the parental coordination process include?
The parental coordination process consists of several different interventions, including, among others:
- Parental guidance specific to the period of struggle and changes in the family unit.
- Mediation Between the conflicting desires of divorcing parents.
- Coordination of technical details (vacation dates, changes in stay times, etc.).
- If necessary – referral for treatment, diagnosis or other required therapeutic intervention.
- Often the parent coordinator will also provide targeted psychotherapeutic interventions.
In practice, there are two types of parental coordination:
Partial parental coordination or administrative coordination, which is a situation in which the parental coordination process is carried out while determining visitation arrangements and can take place when the parents already have some ability and willingness to reach an agreement.
In this situation, the parental coordinator may be asked to provide a report to the court on the level of cooperation of the parents, on the progress of the treatment, and sometimes also to express his opinion regarding recommendations for changes in visitation arrangements and, in extreme cases, changes in custody arrangements.
If the parent coordinator identifies a pattern of behavior that is contrary to the best interests of the children, he or she must point this out and do everything possible to address the problem during the coordination process. As mentioned, this coordination can only be successful if the parents have a basic willingness to reach some kind of agreement.
In difficult cases, even after determining visitation and custody arrangements, the parents still clash with each other in court. In this situation, the parents are not yet ready to reach an agreement, and for this, a full-fledged parental coordination process is required, and it is only successful thanks to strict rules and cooperation with the court.
This process can only begin after the court has determined custody and visitation arrangements. As part of this coordination, an agreement is signed with the parents in which they undertake not to go to court or involve lawyers during the coordination period.
Also, the coordinator does not report to the court on the content of the meetings, but only on the beginning and end of the process. If during the process the parents violate the rules and go to court, the most effective thing to do is for the court to return them to the coordination process, as the only way out.
As part of the coordination, which is conducted with both parents together and usually by two coordinators, the parents are taught to separate the marital conflict between them and their parental duty to their children. It is important to discuss the best interests of the child and to focus repeatedly on things that the parents do agree on.
The parents gradually expand the agreements until they engage in significant conflicts. The rules of the foursome’s joint meeting, related to the nature of the conduct (with respect) and the content (the children’s needs and the agreements) and the understanding that there is no other solution and that even the court will not help them “escape” from this, more clearly promote a dialogue that is less conflictual.
Within the framework of parenting coordination procedures, it is often seen how couples who have fought with each other for such a long period manage to move, with no choice, to a language of respect within a few sessions of full parenting coordination.
Parental coordination has a number of very important goals, including:
- Reduce conflict and encourage dialogue and communication to protect the well-being of children
- Helping children with special needs navigate the process of parental separation
- Create a space where parents’ distress is heard, contained, and addressed
The end result of the coordination process aims to ensure that no third party is required to mediate between the parents, and thus both parties will be able to respect the other party’s wishes and act as team members in the complex family system.
For children, coordination reduces anxiety and a sense of responsibility for decisions that are beyond their ability. At the same time, the process also promotes a sense of personal responsibility, which leads to an improvement in the ability to make their voice heard, an increase in self-confidence, and the ability to influence the process.
There is no doubt that parental coordination is For the benefit of the children and can only help them cope with the divorce proceedings. and the dissolution of their family unit.
Coordination increases the probability that children will continue to enjoy the presence of both parents in their lives, and in cases of parental alienation or refusal of contact, it creates effective and tolerable communication channels for all parties and promotes, as much as possible, the renewal of the relationship.
Ultimately, parental coordination helps find effective ways of verbal communication that inspire trust, confidence, and healthy teamwork, stops the cycle of hostility, encourages communication and dialogue, and provides parents with resources for day-to-day coping.
On the personal, marital, and family level, coordination allows parents confidence that the other side will keep its promises and reduces conflicts between the parents and, as a result, the need to resort to unnecessary legal proceedings.
Read more: About the possibility of reducing child support payments in joint custody
