Testimony on a bill that would rewrite the state's child custody laws started in a Senate committee on Monday, while one Bismarck mother says she's concerned it could add more legal costs for divorced parents.

The bill would require married and unmarried parents to draft binding parenting plans when going through divorce proceedings. If the parents were to disagree about something after the parenting plan is filed with the courts, they could go to a "parenting coordinator," who would act as a mediator to settle the dispute, potentially keeping the parents out of court.

"This system is in desperate need of improvement," said Rep. Shirley Meyer, D-Dickinson, who chaired the interim committee that approved the bill last year. "It is an attempt to take away the adversarial nature of (divorce) proceedings."

Parents would be required to pay for the parenting coordinator, which would not include any state or county aid, said Sherry Mills Moore of the State Bar Association of North Dakota.

Nancy Carlson, who said she divorced in 1993 and has sole custody of her teenage son, told the Senate Judiciary committee that she is concerned that the parental coordinator's powers are undefined and potential legal costs could increase.

"I think there are too many what-ifs with the parental coordinators," she said.

Parental coordinators likely would be people with social work and mediating backgrounds, and would be appointed to families who could afford them. Moore said the parental coordinator, which would not be required, would offer a "swifter method of solving disputes."

The bill, drafted by a state bar association task force, also would change some of the definitions involved with child custody law. For example, "visitation" would now be "residential responsibility."

The bill is SB2042.

(Reach reporter Brian Duggan at 223-8482 or brian.duggan@;bismarcktribune.com.)