A parenting time expeditor is a neutral third party who is brought on board after a custody arrangement or parenting plan is in place to assist parents with the parenting schedule. The family court appoints the parenting time expeditor, but in many cases, the court’s appointment is a result of the agreement of the parents.

The parenting time expeditor (I’ve also seen it spelled expediter) can help in situations such as this: Mom is entitled to spend her birthday with the children. Dad is entitled to spend Memorial Day Weekend with the children. Once or twice every few years, Mom’s birthday occurs during Memorial Day Weekend. The first time this occurs after the parents are no longer living together, the parents are at an impasse as to how they allocate their time with the children throughout the holiday weekend.

Before parenting time expeditors existed, parents in this situation might have to arrange a family court hearing before a judge if they were unable to reach agreement on the issue. With a parenting time expeditor involved, there can be a discussion at a conference table, and the parenting time expeditor can help facilitate an agreement, or even make a binding decision, to resolve the dispute.

I have served as a parenting time expeditor in the past, and often was able to handle the process by communicating with the parents by electronic mail. Handling things that way made the dispute resolution process even more time-efficient and less expensive than it would otherwise have been.

Most of the time the parenting time expeditor’s services are paid for by the parents in equal shares. Many parents find it to be money well spent.