It is common cause that parents who are no longer in a relationship and/or are going through a divorce, or have gone through a divorce have difficulty in reaching consensus when it comes to important decisions regarding their minor children.  Some parents have great difficulty in agreeing to something as simple as “which parent will have the children for the first part of the December holiday and which parent will have the children for the second part of the December holiday”.

It is standard practice that during divorce proceedings the parties attempt to have a settlement agreement drawn up, alternatively a parenting plan, however, the arrangements regarding the minor children are usually the biggest component to which the parties cannot agree.  In such instances, the parties are referred to attempt to have their disputes resolved by dispute resolution.  Dispute resolution in the Western Cape is referred to as facilitation and in Gauteng it is referred to as case management, however internationally, dispute resolution in family related disputes is referred to as parenting coordination.

Parenting coordination is a non-adversarial dispute resolution service which is provided by mental health advisors, alternatively by family law lawyers to assist parents during divorce proceedings who are unable to reach an agreement regarding the minor children.  This is done in an expeditious and child-focused manner.

Parenting coordination requires legal, psychological and conflict resolution skills, combined with assessment, education, case management, conflict management and decision-making functions.

The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts have the necessary guidelines in respect of the appointment of a parenting coordinator, as well as parenting coordination.  This however is not the same for the current position in South Africa.  There is thus no statute nor rule of court which can guide the parties through the process.

Parenting coordination is a practice that was developed by our legal practitioners in assistance with mental health advisers, to assists divorcing parents to consent to the appointment of a parenting coordinator to mediate disputes regarding the minor children, alternatively, where the parties attempted mediation but were unsuccessful, to make directives that are binding until such directives are set aside by court.

The appointment of a parenting coordinator is usually stipulated in either a settlement agreement, alternatively in a parenting plan, as well as in an interim court order during Rule 43 proceedings.

The purpose of the appointment of a parenting coordinator is to assist and to empower conflicting parents to develop their parenting skills and to adapt to the change in circumstances by resuming their parenting decision-making skills to be in the best interest of the minor children.  Should the parents be unable to do so, the parenting coordinator must give guidance and services needed to enable an outcome which will be in the best interest of the minor children and which will limit the amount of conflict between the parents.

In a recent Western Cape High Court decision, TC // SC, the court stated that it may, in its inherent jurisdiction and upper guarding of all minor children, appoint a parenting coordinator when both parents are consenting to such appointment, provided that;“There is already an agreed parenting plan in existence, the role of the  parenting coordinator is expressly limited to supervising the implementation of and compliance with the court order, any decision making powers conferred on the parenting coordinator is confined to ancillary rulings which are necessary to implement the court order, but which do not alter the substance of the court order or involve a permanent change to any of the rights and obligations defined in the court order, all rulings and directives of the parenting coordinator are subject to judicial oversight in the form of an appeal”.

The court further stated that, the court may appoint a parenting coordinator without the consent of both parents should all the aforementioned conditions be met, but also that;

“The welfare of the child is at risk from exposure to chronic parental conflict based on evidence of the parents’ inability or unwillingness to co-parent peacefully, mediation has been attempted and was unsuccessful , or is inappropriate in the particular case, the person proposed for appointment as the parenting coordinator is suitably qualified and experienced to fulfil the role of parenting coordinator, the fees charged by the proposed parenting coordinator are fair and reasonable in the light of his or her qualification and experience, that the parents can afford to pay for the services of the parenting coordinator, and that at least one of the parents agrees to pay for the services of the parenting coordinator”.

Parenting coordination on face value seems to be a good practice, however, this practice will not be without any challenges.  It is of paramount importance that the High Courts’ inherent jurisdiction as upper guardian of all minor children is not ignored and that the parenting coordinator is not given too much authority to make decisions regarding the minor children if such decision is not subjected to judicial oversight.