Parenting Time Expeditor
The official role of a Parenting Time Expeditor is defined by Minnesota statute 518.1705. The goal of a Parenting Time Expeditor is to assist with issues involving children, specifically surrounding Parenting Time, which is also often referred to as visitation.
While despite the valiant efforts of the Minnesota court system to create parenting time orders that are clear and fair, parenting time disputes occasionally still arise. Many times, the issues are relatively small, and can wait for a court hearing to resolve them, however other times the situation is so urgent that it must be addressed immediately. In these instances, Minnesota has created the role of a Parenting Time Expeditor.
What Exactly is a Parenting Time Expeditor?
A Parenting Time Expeditor is a neutral third party that can be used to help you and your children’s other parent resolve parenting time disputes on your own, without lengthy court hearings. A few examples of issues where it may make sense to call a Parenting Time Expeditor could include:
- You have suspicions that you’re going to be denied future scheduled parenting time
- Addressing whether you should be entitled to make up parenting time due to time that was denied or missed
- The other parent is interfering with your parenting time
These are just a few of the examples of potential disputes that could be addressed using a Parenting Time Expeditor.
A Parenting Time Expeditor can be appointed by the court, at your own request, or the request of your child’s other parent. Typically, parenting time expeditors must undergo at least 40 hours of family mediation training as well as training surrounding domestic abuse issues.
How Does The Parenting Time Expediting Process Work?
A parenting time expeditor will typically meet with you and the other parent within a few days after they have been appointed or notified about your dispute. Depending on the circumstances, he or she may meet with you separately to better understand the background concerning the issue at hand. If necessary, the meeting could take place by telephone, but an in-person meeting is preferred.
The primary goal is for the expeditor, in a neutral way, to help you and your child’s other parent reach an agreement on the dispute in question. If this mediation process doesn’t work, the Parenting Time Expeditor will gather all of the information related to the issue and make a decision. If one of the parties of the dispute does not agree with the decision of the expeditor, the issue can be brought before a judge in court.
Advantages of Hiring a Parenting Time Expeditor
Save Money – There are a number of advantages of hiring a parenting time expeditor. Typically, they are much cheaper than hiring an attorney to prepare and file a motion and argue it in court.
Save Time – A Parenting Time Expeditor is a trained mediator and can work with you and your other child’s parent to come up with a realistic solution to visitation issues. In addition, when working with an expeditor, you don’t have to wait for a court date, then any additional delay before the judge reaches a decision.
Preserve Your Privacy – When you work with a parenting time expeditor, your issues are kept private. However, with an attorney, your issues could be argued in open court, which may be embarrassing for some individuals. While the final decision of a Parenting Time Expeditor does become part of the public record, the discussing surrounding it does not.
Contact Johnson Mediation For More Information
If you would like to learn more about whether a Parenting Time Expeditor could be advantageous based on your unique situation, don’t hesitate to give us a call today at 952-401-7599, or fill out our contact form and we’ll follow up with you shortly.
