Domestic relations decision makers and arbitrators

In 2006, the state passed a law that helps courts work through particularly high conflict family law cases. The law formalized what many courts had been doing in family law for years, which was appointing parenting coordinators or domestic relations decision makers in cases where the couples needed a third party to help navigate their dispute.

There are three levels of resources a court may use. The first is a parenting coordinator, which was discussed in this post (link to previous post). In some instances though, a parenting coordinator may not be appropriate. The court may use a domestic relations decision maker in other instances, where the parties need more intervention or oversight.

A domestic relations decision maker is given binding authority to resolve disputes between the parties as to the implementation or clarification of existing orders regarding the parties’ children, including but not limited to: disputes concerning parenting time; specific decisions regarding a child like medical care or schooling; and child support. Both parties must agree in writing to use a decision maker, and the parties will create a written agreement that specifies that person’s role. This person’s role is not to create a new parenting plan but to ensure that the existing plan is implemented as written. If the parties need to modify their existing agreement, they will have to return to court to do so.

The final level a court may use in a high-conflict family law case is arbitration. This process involves a much more formal approach because an arbitrator has the ability to modify or change the rights and interests of the parties. Like the decision-maker, the parties will create an agreement with the arbitrator that outlines the arbitrator’s authority and limitations.

To learn more about these resources, here’s a helpful article.