Using a Florida Social Investigation or Parenting Coordinator in Your Divorce or Paternity Case Can Be a Helpful Tool

Paternity cases and divorces in Florida have a standard of review by the court when children are involved, which is, “What is in the best interest of the child?” By changing things from “custody” to “time-sharing” and “custodial parent” to “majority time-sharing parent, “ the Florida legislature tried to help parents approach such subjects from a less adversarial position. As a Jacksonville divorce and family law attorney, I can attest to the fact that people seem to understand that visitation matters need to be addressed a little more openly, but it does not change the fact that parents sometimes want to fight over the time-sharing plan for many different reasons. That means that when parents disagree, which they often do, then the Court may appoint a parenting plan coordinator or social investigator to help them work out their differences.

The court, through Florida law, is allowed to appoint a parenting coordinator. The parenting coordinator will actually meet with the parents and the children to help determine what issues may be impacting the family, though a separated one. In so doing, the coordinator may be able to help the parents work through some of their issues that may be creating a communication challenge for them. Also, the parenting coordinator may be able to address issues with the children and parents that may have gone overlooked by the parents through the divorce or paternity action. There are psychological and emotional issues that can be associated with any type of family matter, the least of which is not divorce. The parenting coordinator is often trained in dealing with such matters and can help the parents and children reach a level of comfort with one another to express such issues. By doing so, the parenting coordinator may ultimately help the parties in reaching an agreement about the time-sharing and parenting plans that need to be filed with the court.

If the parents are in complete disagreement with one another from the beginning, the court may appoint a social investigator. The investigator’s role is to meet with the parents and the children. However, it is different from the parenting coordinator in that she/he actually interviews the parents and tries to seem each parent interact individually with the kids. Also, the investigator may employ psychological tools, evaluations to help determine any underlying issues the parents or children may have. Furthermore, the investigation may require home visits, which allows the investigator to see what the home life is like for the children and ultimately make a recommendation to the court based on all aspects of the investigation. If there are questions about the truthfulness of one or both parents, then the investigator may actually interview others and check up on the parents in their work-life, if it is deemed necessary. The investigation can help the court to better understand each household and to assess what type of time-sharing and parenting plan truly is in the best interest of the children.

While these tools can be helpful in your divorce or paternity action, not all cases require them. So, it is important to speak with an experienced family law attorney to help you better understand your rights and options.