What you can do if a Parenting Coordinator Exceeds their Authority? Sophie Bartholomew, one of our top Parenting Coordinators Exceeding Authority Lawyers weighs in on this topic.
You are ordered or agreed to appoint a Parenting Coordinator hoping to reduce conflict, not increase it. Ideally, this professional would help smooth out parenting disagreements without constant trips back to court. But what happens when a Parenting Coordinator starts making decisions they shouldn’t?
Vancouver Parenting Coordinators Exceeding Authority Lawyers Tel: 604 602 9000
Parenting coordinators in British Columbia derive their authority from the Family Law Act (FLA) and Family Law Act Regulations.
Under the Family Law Act, parenting coordinators may try and build consensus between parties (s.17(a) FLA), and where agreement isn’t possible, make determinations on prescribed matters, such as:
- a child’s daily routine,
- education,
- extracurricular activities,
- temporary care,
- routine medical dental or other health care of a child,
- discipline of a child,
- transportation and exchange for parenting time,
- parenting time during vacations and on special occasions, and
- any other matters agreed on by the parties and the parenting coordinator that are not specifically excluded under s.6(4)(b)
(section 18(1)(a) FLA and s.6(3) and (4) of the Family Law Act Regulation).
However, they cannot make determinations affecting guardianship, change or allocation of parental responsibilities, giving parenting time to a non-parent, substantial changes to parenting time or contact, or relocation (section 6(4)(b) Family Law Act Regulations).
Parenting coordinators must also operate within the boundaries of any existing parenting coordination agreement or court order (section 18(1)(b) FLA), so the terms of such agreements or orders need to be carefully considered at the time they are being drafted.
There role is therefore essentially as a “conflict resolution tool” to help with day-to-day logistics; not to make sweeping changes to your parenting arrangement or order.
As a result, if a parenting coordinator acts outside their authority or makes an error of law or mixed law and fact, a party can apply to the court to change or set aside the determination under s. 19(1) of the FLA.
How Do I Fix A Decision Of A PC I Disagree With?
Two grounds exist for setting aside a determination:
- the coordinator acted outside their authority (section 19(1)(a)); or
- the coordinator made an error of law or mixed law and fact (section 19(1)(b)).
If the court sets aside a determination, they can make any order to resolve a dispute between the parties in relation to the subject matter of the determination (s.19(2) FLA).
If the Court does not set aside the determination, they can make any order under the Family Law Act to enforce compliance with the determination (s.19(3) FLA).
Our BC Parenting Coordinators Exceeding Authority Lawyers Can Help Tel: 604 602 9000
Real Cases, Real Outcomes:
- In the recent case of K.L. v D.M.A.T, 2025 BCSC 364 (CanLII) the court set aside a PC’s decision that gave long weekends to the father—something not allowed under the governing order. The PC also tried to impose conduct restrictions, which the court ruled went beyond her role. The judge pointed out that PCs are not judges and cannot make decisions outside the law or their limited scope.
“[111] Second, I am concerned that the two determinations under review and several comments made by the Coordinator in her emails reveal a fundamental misunderstanding and misapprehension of a parenting coordinator’s role. That role is to build consensus, make certain determinations under court supervision, and to encourage parents to resolve conflict other than through court intervention: Fleetwood v. Percival, 2014 BCCA 502 at para. 44, and F.J.V. v. W.K.S., 2019 BCCA 67 at para. 40. A parenting coordinator is not, however, a judicial official who enjoys inherent decision-making authority so long as it is exercised in the best interests of children”.
- In Sandhu v Mangat, 2025 BCSC 920 (CanLII) the court upheld the parenting coordinator’s determinations regarding s. 7 expenses, finding they were within the coordinator’s authority pursuant to the interpretation of the final order (para 97-98 & 108).
- Similarly, in M.W. v K.M.C.N, 2021 BCSC 1986 (CanLII) the court upheld the parenting coordinator’s determination regarding school choice, finding the coordinator acted within their authority as defined by the parties’ agreement and the FLA (paras 31-34).
- In R. v A.R, 2020 BCSC 2068 (CanLII), the court upheld the parenting coordinator’s determinations related to counseling and communication, finding they fell within the prescribed matters and did not substantially alter parenting time (paras 30, 43).
- The Court also has the discretionary authority to terminate a parenting coordination agreement at any time (s.15(6) FLA) which may be warranted when a party has genuinely and justifiably lost confidence in the ability of a parenting coordinator to fairly make determinations and mediate conflict (K.S. v A.L.E.S, 2019 BCSC 419 (CanLII) para 62). (see our detailed blog post about that case here.
Delay In Appealing a PC Decision Can Be Fatal
These cases illustrate the court’s role in reviewing parenting coordinators’ determinations and ensuring they act within the bounds of their legal authority, with authority to take appropriate orders when such determinations have not done so.
If you have concerns regarding a parenting coordinator acting within their authority or want to set aside or enforce a parenting coordinator determination then contact us.
