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Parent Coordination

Neutral | Child-centered | Dispute resolution
Father and son walking hand in hand at sunset, evoking the child-centered focus that Parent Coordination is built to protect

A Parent Coordinator (PC), also called a Parenting Coordinator or Parenting Plan Coordinator, is a neutral professional who helps high-conflict co-parents resolve day-to-day disputes without returning to court. The PC interprets the existing parenting plan, facilitates decisions about schedules, holidays, school, and medical issues, and documents what the parents agree to.

Michelle Mitchell, J.D. is an AFCC-trained Parent Coordinator based in San Diego, serving California families and co-parents in other jurisdictions via Zoom. Her Parent Coordinator role is strictly neutral: she represents neither parent, carries no advocacy function, and keeps the focus on the children's experience across both homes.

Appointment is by court order or by signed stipulation between both parents (and counsel, if represented). Pre-appointment inquiries are informational only. Michelle does not hear case specifics from one parent before both parents have agreed to appoint.

"You cannot control how the other parent behaves. You can control how you respond, and a Parent Coordinator helps you build the structure to do that without going back to court every time."

What a Parent Coordinator handles

  • Parenting-plan interpretation when the two parents read a provision differently
  • Schedule, holiday, and transition decisions that recur every year
  • School decisions: enrollment, IEP meetings, extracurriculars, tutoring
  • Medical and mental-health decisions that require both-parent sign-off
  • Documented agreements so what you agreed to is referenceable later
  • Non-binding recommendations when the order or stipulation authorizes it
  • Communication practices that lower the temperature between the homes
Request a Parent Coordinator Discovery Call Client stories
When you need one

Signs your family needs a Parent Coordinator.

You already have a parenting plan on paper. The friction is in the day-to-day: how it gets carried out, how disputes get read, and how the children end up pulled into the conflict. A Parent Coordinator is appropriate when:

  • Every schedule change becomes a dispute.
  • Holidays, breaks, and summer plans get renegotiated every year.
  • Text and email threads spiral and nothing gets decided.
  • You are back in court on small implementation issues the court is not well-positioned to decide.
  • The parenting plan has gaps or ambiguities that keep triggering fights.
  • The children are being told things, asked things, or asked to carry messages between homes.
  • School enrollment, IEPs, tutoring, or extracurriculars require sign-off from both parents and that sign-off is hard to get.
  • Medical and mental-health decisions keep stalling.

A Parent Coordinator is not a fit for every case. If there is active domestic violence, an active criminal matter, or a party who cannot engage in good faith with the appointment, a PC appointment can do more harm than good. The PC role requires both parents to be willing to sit in the same process, even when they disagree.

What a PC is and is not

Parent Coordinator vs mediator vs therapist vs attorney.

Four different roles, often confused. Here is how they differ, so you can tell which professional your family actually needs.

Role Who they represent What they do When their work ends
Parent Coordinator Neither parent. Impartial to both. Interprets an existing parenting plan, facilitates recurring decisions, documents agreements, teaches communication practices. Ongoing. Months or years, until the family no longer needs the role.
Mediator Neither parent. Impartial to both. Helps parents negotiate and reach a written agreement. When the agreement is signed.
Therapist Their patient (one parent, or a child, or the family as a unit). Mental-health treatment with clinical confidentiality. When the clinical goals are met.
Attorney One parent. Advocates for their interests. Advises on legal rights, files motions, represents in court. When the matter is resolved or the engagement ends.

A Parent Coordinator does not replace any of the other three roles. Many families have an attorney for legal strategy, a therapist for the children, and a Parent Coordinator for the ongoing implementation of the parenting plan.

Credentials and framework

How Michelle serves as your Parent Coordinator.

Michelle's PC work is built on the AFCC Guidelines for Parenting Coordination and informed by 20+ years inside California family courts. The role is neutral, child-centered, and tightly scoped by the order or stipulation that appoints her.

AFCC-trained

The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts publishes the Guidelines for Parenting Coordination (2019), the professional framework for the role. Michelle's practice follows the Guidelines on impartiality, multiple roles, intake, ex parte communication, and the limits of decision-making authority.

J.D. and former California litigator

Michelle holds a Juris Doctor from California Western School of Law and is a former California litigator with more than 20 years of experience. She does not practice law in the PC role and does not give legal advice; the legal background informs her reading of orders, stipulations, and parenting plans.

High-conflict specialist

Certified New Ways for Families® Instructor with the High Conflict Institute, Certified HCDP™ Coach trained by Brook Olsen, Martha Beck Certified Wayfinder Coach, and trained in Peter Levine's Somatic Experiencing®. The PC role draws on all of this when the dynamic is hostile and the children are being pulled in.

On impartiality: the PC role requires strict neutrality to both parents. Michelle does not coach, counsel, or ghostwrite for either parent in a family where she is also the Parent Coordinator. If you are already a 1-to-1 coaching or ghostwriting client, a PC appointment in your case is not available; she will refer you to another PC.

What to expect

The engagement process, step by step.

California has no statewide statutory framework for Parent Coordinators, so the appointment runs through a court order or a signed stipulation. Here is how a PC engagement with Michelle unfolds from the first inquiry to active PC meetings.

01

Joint inquiry

Both parents (or their attorneys) reach out together. Michelle will not take case specifics from one parent before both parents have agreed to engage her. The inquiry call covers qualifications, process, and fees only.

02

PC agreement + court order or stipulation

Michelle sends a draft PC agreement outlining scope, fees, confidentiality, and the limits of her authority. Both parents sign, counsel sign off, and a court order of appointment or a written stipulation names Michelle as the Parent Coordinator.

03

Intake and plan review

Separate intake meetings with each parent. Michelle reviews the parenting plan, the appointment order or stipulation, and any history that both parents have agreed is in scope. This frames what the PC role covers and what it does not.

04

Ongoing PC meetings

Scheduled meetings with a short agenda from each parent. Michelle restates and clarifies, surfaces where the parenting plan already answers the question, documents agreements, tables unresolved items, and (where authorized) provides written recommendations.

Fees and scope

What a Parent Coordinator costs.

Parent Coordinators bill hourly. Michelle's PC rate is published in the signed PC agreement and is typically split between the parents under terms set out in the court order or stipulation.

The initial Discovery Call is complimentary. From there, ongoing PC work (scheduled meetings, review of parenting-plan sections, written agreements, written recommendations where authorized) is billed in standard increments.

Not every family needs a long engagement. Some PC appointments resolve the recurring disputes in a handful of sessions. Others run for months or years, especially when a parenting plan has structural gaps. The agreement sets the frame; the family's needs set the pace.

Court-ordered education is a separate service. If your case includes a court-ordered co-parenting class requirement, see our court-approved high-conflict co-parenting class in California instead.

Request a Parent Coordinator Discovery Call If you are one parent, see 1-to-1 Coaching
Results from coordination clients

What the handoff looks like after.

"
Michelle has been a Godsend for myself and my family. After several sessions, I was able to establish solid boundaries and develop coping mechanisms for triggering situations. My family and I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel — we couldn't have done it without Michelle's help.
SF
S.F.
Washington, DC
"
Michelle provided me with very sound advice on everything from children's therapist referrals to tips on how to be an effective, albeit temporary, full-time single parent. I have immense respect and admiration for the work Michelle does. To know what works and doesn't work in the world of high-conflict co-parenting is invaluable.
M
Marc
California
"
Michelle's tools and coaching were very fulfilling and helped us reframe our focus and priorities in a toxic co-parenting environment. We still use her suggestions to this day. I would recommend her to anyone needing help navigating the tough dynamic of raising children under these circumstances.
A
Andy
Ohio
"
Thanks for all the help and support for our family. You were a spark of hope through some tough times. Divorce poison and alienation tactics are brutal, but we made it through and are glad we stayed ethical and didn't contribute nor escalate the negative tactics.
S
Steph
Minnesota
Other ways we help

Related services

01 | Personalized | Zoom or Phone

1-to-1 Coaching

Private coaching with Coach Michelle to disengage, protect your peace, and strengthen your bond with your children.

 02 | SAFE™ + BIFF® | Court-ready

Co-Parenting Ghostwriting

We draft your OFW, Talking Parent, email, and SMS replies. Calm, brief, child-centered.

 03 | 90-min private sessions

Court & Mediation Prep

Role-play activating scenarios. Project credibility to judges, evaluators, and mediators.
Book your free Discovery Call

The first 20 minutes are on us.

Tell us what's happening. We'll point you to the right service (coaching, ghostwriting, court prep, parent coordination, or a course), even if that means we're not the right fit.

Book your free discovery call
*Coach Michelle does not practice family law and is not a licensed mental health provider. Her life coach training and certifications, as well as her 20+ years of prior litigation experience, enhance her understanding of high-conflict; she often works hand-in-hand with the client's attorney. Coaching services are psychoeducational in nature (educational, skill-building, and strategy-focused) and are not therapy or legal advice. Information from High Conflict Resolutions, LLC reflects her personal opinion as a Coach and should not be relied on as legal advice or mental-health/therapeutic advice.
Frequently asked

Questions, answered.

The questions we hear most often. Don't see yours? Book a free 20-min consult.

What is a Parent Coordinator?
A Parent Coordinator (PC), also called a Parenting Coordinator or Parenting Plan Coordinator, is a neutral professional who helps high-conflict co-parents resolve day-to-day disputes without returning to court. The PC interprets the existing parenting plan, facilitates decisions about schedules, holidays, school, and medical issues, and documents what the parents agree to. PCs are typically appointed by a court order or by a written stipulation between both parents.
What does a Parent Coordinator do?
A Parent Coordinator does five main things: interprets the parenting plan when parents read it differently; facilitates decisions about schedules, holiday rotations, transitions, school, and medical issues; documents what parents agree to so it is referenceable later; when the appointment order or stipulation allows, makes non-binding recommendations when parents cannot agree; and teaches communication practices that lower the temperature between the homes so children are not exposed to the conflict.
What is the difference between a Parent Coordinator and a mediator?
A mediator helps parents reach a settlement, and the mediator's role ends when the agreement is signed. A Parent Coordinator stays involved over time, often months or years, to manage ongoing implementation of a parenting plan that already exists. The PC is appointed to work with the same family on recurring disputes; the mediator is retained for a single negotiation.
What is the difference between a Parent Coordinator and a therapist?
A therapist provides mental-health treatment and holds clinical confidentiality with their patient. A Parent Coordinator does not provide therapy and is not confidential in the same way: communications with a PC are part of the appointment process and may be shared with the court or counsel under the terms of the order or stipulation. Under the AFCC Guidelines for Parenting Coordination, a PC cannot serve as a therapist, coach, or counselor for either parent in the same family.
What is the difference between a Parent Coordinator and an attorney?
An attorney represents one party, advises on legal strategy, and advocates in court. A Parent Coordinator represents neither parent, remains impartial, and does not practice law. Michelle holds a Juris Doctor and is a former California litigator, which informs her understanding of how parenting disputes play out in court, but her Parent Coordinator role is not a legal representation and she does not give legal advice.
When do you need a Parent Coordinator?
Parents typically engage a PC when they have an existing parenting plan but still fight over how to carry it out: every schedule change becomes a dispute, every holiday turns into a renegotiation, every text thread spirals, and the children are being pulled into adult conflict. A PC is also appropriate when the parents keep returning to court on minor implementation issues that the court is not well-positioned to decide, or when one parent needs a neutral checkpoint to prevent the dynamic from escalating.
How do we engage a Parent Coordinator in California?
California has no statewide statutory framework for Parent Coordinators, so authority comes from either a court order of appointment or a written stipulation signed by both parents (and counsel if represented). Engagement in Michelle's practice follows this sequence: both parents (or their attorneys) make a joint inquiry, Michelle sends a draft PC agreement outlining scope, fees, and confidentiality, both parents sign along with a court order or stipulation naming Michelle as the Parent Coordinator, and only then does intake and the PC work begin. Pre-appointment inquiries are treated as informational only; Michelle will not hear case specifics from one parent before both parents have agreed to appoint.
How much does a Parent Coordinator cost?
Parent Coordinators bill hourly. Michelle's PC rate is published in the signed PC agreement and is typically split between the parents under the terms set out in the court order or stipulation. The initial Discovery Call is complimentary. Ongoing PC work (meetings, review of parenting-plan sections, documented agreements, recommendations) is billed in standard increments.
Can a Parent Coordinator make binding decisions?
Only when the order or stipulation specifically authorizes it, and only within the narrow scope defined there. Most California PC appointments give the PC authority to facilitate decisions, document agreements, and make non-binding recommendations. Binding decision-making authority (for example, resolving a tiebreaker on a school choice) must be expressly granted. Even where it is granted, a parent generally retains a right to seek court review.
What happens in a Parent Coordinator meeting?
A typical PC meeting is scheduled in advance with a short agenda from each parent. Michelle sets the frame: child-centered, time-boxed, and focused on the specific items on the agenda. Each parent is given the floor without interruption. Michelle restates and clarifies, surfaces where the parenting plan already answers the question, documents what the parents agree to, and either tables unresolved items for the next meeting or, where authorized, provides a written recommendation. Meetings are generally held over Zoom; separate meetings with each parent are also used when the dynamic requires it.
How is Michelle qualified as a Parent Coordinator?
Michelle is AFCC-trained in Parenting Coordination (the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts publishes the Guidelines for Parenting Coordination that frame her practice). She holds a Juris Doctor from California Western School of Law and is a former California litigator with more than 20 years of experience. She is a Martha Beck Certified Wayfinder Coach, a Certified New Ways for Families® Instructor with the High Conflict Institute, a Certified High Conflict Diversion Program™ Coach trained by Brook Olsen, and trained in Peter Levine's Somatic Experiencing®. Full bio on the Meet Our Coaches page.