When parents have a parenting plan or order but keep running into the same difficulties with exchanges, activities or communication, parenting coordination can help them work through those everyday details.
In developmentEnquiries welcome. Appointments are not yet available.
More room for childhood.
The everyday details
Where does the parenting plan get difficult?
A plan can set out the week and still leave a family with questions like these.
01 Exchanges and schedule changes
School is closed on Friday. Where do we meet?
On a school closure day, each parent expects a different pickup place. Their child waits with a backpack and gets asked to find out who is coming.
What would help next Friday? A coordinator could help the parents agree on a meeting place, who will confirm it and how to give notice of a delay. The adults put the details on their calendars and tell their child what to expect. Next time, the child can pack for the day without carrying messages between homes.
02
Activities across two homes
A child wants to play on a team. Practices fall on both parents’ days, and the parents keep revisiting who will drive.
03
Information that needs to reach both parents
School notices reach one household first. The parents need a reliable way to share dates and permission forms without putting the child in the middle.
For parents
Could this help with our parenting plan?
Start with the arrangement your child already has and the details that repeatedly cause difficulty. A child may live mainly in one home or spend different amounts of time with each parent. This work does not presume a 50/50 schedule.
Try describing one difficult moment from your child’s day. A five-year-old may want to know who will be at the school gate. A teenager may want both parents to know when rehearsal ends so they can accept a ride without choosing sides.
Prepare one recurring issue
Use five questions to note what the plan says, what keeps happening, what your child experiences, what you’ve tried and what you would like to clarify. Keep the sheet for yourself. Midline does not collect your answers.
Contact Midline before naming a coordinator in a proposed agreement or consent order. Inclusion in a draft does not confirm acceptance. Appointments are not yet available.
Before naming a coordinator
Check availability and acceptance. Identify the province and any relevant deadline. Keep the first enquiry general and leave out names and documents.
Identify the work. Which part of the existing plan or order needs to be put into practice? What recurring question would the parents like help resolving?
Define the limits. Set out the issues, duration, review date and how the work would end. Midline’s proposed role is to help parents reach practical agreements. It does not currently offer arbitration or binding decisions.
Settle the terms. Address each parent’s opportunity for independent legal advice, fees and payment shares, communication, records, confidentiality and any reporting. Confirm written acceptance before treating the appointment as agreed.
Midline is in development. These are the steps the proposed service would follow.
Speak separately
Each parent would have a separate intake conversation about the existing arrangement and what keeps going wrong. Before personal details are discussed, the coordinator would explain what may be shared, with whom and why.
Define the work
Identify the questions the coordinator can help with and what falls outside the role. Each parent would have time to review written terms covering communication, records, fees and how the work can end.
Try a practical arrangement
When parents reach agreement, write down who will do what, how a change will be communicated and when to review it. At review, ask what the child now experiences and where the routine still breaks down.
Can each parent participate safely?
A parent may need to raise concerns about threats, monitoring or pressure without the other parent present. Family violence or coercive control can make parenting coordination unsuitable, even with separate meetings. Suitability would be reviewed again if circumstances changed, and the work could pause or end.
The same holiday can raise two quite different questions.
Family mediation
“We need a winter break schedule.”
The parents have yet to agree on dates. In mediation they could compare school and work calendars, explore options and decide whether a proposed schedule works for both of them.
“We have dates. The same handover keeps going wrong.”
The plan already sets the holiday time. The recurring question is where to meet when school is closed and how a delay will be communicated. That is the kind of implementation issue parents could bring to Midline when the service opens.
A background in education and nearly 20 years of family-law experience inform Midline’s focus on how parenting arrangements work in a child’s daily life.
Education
University of Calgary
Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.)
Juris Doctor (J.D.)
Dispute resolution training
York University · School of Continuing Studies
Dispute Resolution Certificate
Certificate in Family Mediation In progress
Legal Education Society of Alberta
Family Arbitration
Mediation of Family & Divorce Conflicts
Completion of the family mediation certificate is planned before the parenting coordination service opens.
Before you enquire
Fees & common questions.
Is Midline accepting appointments?
Appointments are not yet available. You are welcome to enquire about the proposed service. An enquiry does not reserve an appointment or establish a professional engagement.
Which time is billed, and who pays?
The written terms would identify billable work, including meetings, preparation, reviewing relevant materials and communications within the agreed scope. They would also set out any disbursements and each parent’s share. An equal split is one possible arrangement.
Does this require a 50/50 parenting schedule?
No. The starting point is the family’s existing arrangement. Children may live mainly in one home or spend different amounts of time with each parent.
Can Midline make a binding decision?
Midline is not offering arbitration or binding determinations. The proposed service would help parents work toward agreement within their existing arrangement. A question about changing an order or obtaining a binding decision is one to discuss with independent legal counsel.
Who could see what I tell the coordinator?
Before you share personal details, ask what could be discussed with the other parent, what would be recorded, who could receive information and what reporting obligations apply. These matters would be explained in light of the applicable law and written terms. Keep your first email general.
Is this legal advice or representation?
No. Midline does not provide legal advice or representation. Parents should obtain independent legal advice about their rights, obligations and any proposed agreement.
Will parenting coordination keep us out of court?
The aim is to provide a structured way to address practical parenting issues. Some matters may still require legal advice or a court’s involvement. No outcome can be guaranteed.
Get in touch
Enquire about Midline.
General questions about the approach, future availability and referrals are welcome.
The button opens your email app. Please keep your first message general. Leave out confidential documents, names and detailed information about children.
