FAQ

Guardian Ad Litem (“GAL”) is a professional appointed by the court to serve as an impartial third party who provides recommendations as to what is in the child’s best interest. GAL’s do not provide legal advice. The guardian ad litem granted access to participate in all depositions, hearings, and other proceedings that affect the children.

Judges will often appoint a Guardian Ad Litem to investigate any allegations or issues affecting the child. The guardian ad litem or GAL will interview the child, witnesses, or any other person having information concerning the welfare or situation of the child. The GAL may request the court to order expert examinations of the child or the child’s parents, by medical doctors, dentists, and other providers of health care including psychiatrists, psychologists, or other mental health professionals. The goal is to provide the court with written or oral recommendations that will assist the court in understanding the child’s needs and provide recommendation’s that will ensure the child’s needs are addressed and the best interests of the child are served.

There are several considerations that the GAL will examine in order to make recommendations that will best serve the child’s interest. The GAL will collect all available information about the parties and the minor children at the beginning of the investigation to look at the historical background which has led to the current family dynamic. The GAL will consider how the parties manage day-to-day struggles and successes. Is there a history of missed appointments, is there a problem with maintaining emotional, psychological or financial stability? Are these issues arising out of the tension created by litigation or did these issues exist prior to the case? Changes in this area can go a long way to improving communications and ensuring that each party understands their role in the solution. The GAL will consider the perspective of both parties, carefully considering the parties’ personal opinions, how they construe facts, ongoing verbal and nonverbal language, parenting styles, and many other factors.

The GAL will take the time to establish trust & rapport with the child or children and will use age-appropriate techniques for child interviews to minimize any emotional distress, providing a safe place for the child. The goal is for the child or children to feel they can speak freely without concern or fear of retaliation from either parent. The GAL will ask all parties to illustrate, in their own words, how they feel they may have contributed to the current circumstances and determine their willingness to accept or participate in therapeutic interventions. The parties are asked to identify their child’s needs and invited to contribute ideas, which may help address the party’s issues. For example, perhaps one party may suggest communicating in writing instead of over the phone to reduce conflict or another party may suggest contributing more to assisting with a child’s homework to ease the burden on the other parent. The GAL will make therapeutic interventions recommendations to the court. These recommendations are provided orally or in writing as part of an interim or final Guardian Ad Litem Report.

Our Guardian ad Litem Fees are on a sliding scale from $100-$250 per hour, with an initial Retainer Deposit starting at 10 Hours. Fees are usually shared or split by the parties unless the court orders that one person be responsible for a larger portion of fees or the entire obligation.

Investigations vary case by case, generally lasting 3 to 6 months, but may often exceed this time due to variables outside the GAL’s control, such as: availability of professionals, review of evaluations, completion of home studies, continuances by counsel, court scheduling of hearings or final trial, etc.
It is not uncommon for the work of the GAL to exceed 12 months, especially when she has ordered therapeutic interventions and is monitoring compliance prior to providing a final report.

A guardian ad litem report can be done orally or in writing and can be provided on an interim (preliminary) or final basis. This report contains findings and recommendations to the court based on observations, facts, documents, evidence collected and valuable input from professionals made during an investigation. Although the report will consider the position of both sides, the ultimate recommendations provided will always be child-focused and provide the court with what the GAL considers is in the best interests of the minor child or children.

GAL reports may include recommendations as to timesharing schedules, parental responsibility, interventions to resolve ongoing parenting issues, educational and psychological recommendations addressing the needs of the child, etc. These reports are subject to review and questioning by parties and/or their counsel.