A parenting time consultant is not governed by Minnesota Statute, but rather is a position that is created by agreement between the parties.  The parenting consultant agreement is typically incorporated verbatim in the judgment and decree.  In this arrangement, the parties decide in advance precisely the authority that they are willing to grant to the parenting time consultant.  Accordingly, the agreement could be very narrow in scope, or extremely broad.  In most cases, the parenting consultant will have the authority to change a parenting schedule, but rarely will a parenting consultant have the authority to change custody. A parenting time consultant will attempt to mediate a dispute between the parents and, if the parents are able to come to an agreement, the consultant will make a written decision. The parenting time consultant’s decision  will be binding upon the parties, but parenting consultant agreements typically include a provision that allows either party to file a motion in the district court if they disagree with a decision made by the consultant.  In cases involving either parenting time expeditors or parenting time consultants, the parties typically save a lot of time and money because the cost of the expeditor or consultant is shared between the parties, the use of outside counsel is often unnecessary or limited, and a decision can be achieved much more expeditiously.