DAILY CUSTODY TIP: Prepping the Guardian Ad Litem Can Boost Your Chances of Success in Custody Court.

In a child custody case, the court will sometimes appoint a guardian ad litem. A guardian ad litem (or GAL for short) is an independent person who performs services for the court to determine what course of action would serve the child’s best interests. GAL’s can be lawyers, psychologists, and other kinds of specialists. They can be non-professionals who are interested in serving the courts on behalf of children. In some states, GAL’s are paid or the court orders the child’s parents to pay the GAL. In other states, GAL’s work on a volunteer, unpaid basis.

Usually, a court-appointed GAL will be required to conduct an investigation of some sort. This could entail visits to each parent’s home, interviews with the parents and their significant others, with the child or children, and other family members. Observations and opinions by the GAL are frequently submitted in a written report to the judge who will be making the final custody or visitation ruling. Unlike the attorneys who represent each of the parents, the GAL is neutral; his client is the court, and his key focus is on the best interest of the child.

If you are the parent of a child in a custody or visitation dispute, you can help your chances of success by helping the GAL. For example, as soon as the GAL is appointed, you can assemble all of the relevant court orders, pleadings, psychological reports and educational materials for the children. Present these records to the GAL in a nicely tabbed or indexed binder. This will give the GAL a head-start, by providing valuable background information, and will immediately cast you as being helpful, well-organized, and dedicated to your child’s best interests.

Of course, you should exercise care in how you communicate with the GAL. You should not try to recruit the GAL to your side of the case, or provide only helpful documents. You may be required under local court rules to limit your submissions, or to provide copies of your submissions to the parent or the attorney on the other side. But, as long as you work within the rules, there’s no harm in assisting the GAL learn the background of the case and making important documents readily available.