Jordana Wolfson is a Parenting Time Coordinator/Binding Arbitrator. This designation is assigned by the court in very high-conflict cases. A lengthy document outlines the role of this person and gives her judicial immune power, which means she can make decisions that the family must follow.
Parenting Time Coordinators are called in to figure out parenting time gray areas, Jordana explains. Some examples include determining if a child needs a therapist and who that therapist will be, extracurricular activities, how to decide where to send a child to high school when parents cannot agree, summer camps or family milestone celebrations, to name a few.
“My approach is to try to get the parents to work together,” Jordana says. “If I can’t get them to agree upon something, I make the decision, and it is binding.”
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This is a formal position that carries a lot of weight with the courts. When a Parenting Time Coordinator issues a recommendation for a family, it becomes a legally binding document. The family has 14 days to contest it if they choose, and if they do not, or if the court denies the contest, it becomes binding and the family must follow the recommendations.
“This is not an ideal path to follow, but for some families, it is necessary,” Jordana says. “My goal is always to empower parents to work together for their children’s peace and success. When they can’t, we have options like this to help the family. But our first step will always be to seek a resolution-focused approach that will help parents work together in ways that benefit their children.