Our court system has us believe that the role of
Guardian ad litem is at least in theory a person who is the eyes and
ears of the court offering a neutral and unbiased view of the divorcing
family. In practice the person who operates in this role is anything
but. The Guardian ad litem’s personal values and agenda clouds the
process and as a result this can be a source of conflict with you.
Ask yourself this:
How well do you know this person?
What happens if your values differ from that of this court appointed official?
Our
Family Court system markets the belief that in the roll of Guardian ad
litem we have a person who we are to believe is an expert in determining
– where your child should live, the impact of divorce or domestic
violence, visitation, custody, law, psychology and social work to name a
few areas. This expertise comes from just a few hours of training with
little or no focus. There is no test to determine whether or not this
Guardian ad litem understands the material. There is no mentoring
program after the Guardian ad litem completes training. To make matters
worse - there is no oversight or management of this person in this role.
Doctors, lawyers, judges, electricians, plumbers, nurses, oil burner
technicians, chiropractors, social workers and dental hygienists have
more training and oversight. In addition to the training and oversight
we can ask people in these professions questions without the fear of
being reprimanded for doing so.
You
– as a consumer – need to inform yourself about the person who is being
thrust into your life and making decisions which you have no control
over. They should be asked before any Guardian ad litem has become a
part of your life - chances are the Guardian ad litem is already
wreaking havoc in your divorce/ custody. It is not too late.
These
questions are being presented in no particular order or grouping. In
most cases the answers will have meaning for you and should be used as a
tool to help in understanding the Guardian ad litem. In asking any of
these questions if the Guardian ad litem refuses to answer or gives a
non-answer answer – that is a behavioral message and a clue as to the
makeup of the person. The questions and answers should be entered in as
evidence or asked in court of the Guardian ad litem. It becomes part of
the record.
After
going through this list if you can think of questions that may be
appropriate to ask we would encourage you to share. A link will be
provided to voice those questions.
Presented here are some basic questions (depending on the answer there may be follow up questions):
1 Do you have experience as a law enforcement
officer in conducting investigations?
2.
What is your actual field of professional expertise?
3.
What makes you an expert in determining what is
good for other people’s children?
4.
What makes you an expert in determining how
other people should conduct their lives?
5.
What is your child hood family background?
6.
What is your own family history as an adult?
7.
What is your own marital history as an adult?
8.
What is your own relationship history as an
adult?
9.
Why do you want to be appointed to this case?
10.
What do you see your role in this case to be?
11.
How do you separate your underlying professional
behaviors from your role as Guardian ad litem functions?
12.
As a Guardian ad litem going through training
were you ever tested on what you learned?
a.
YES – What was the score you received?
b.
NO – How do we know that you understand the
material taught/ discussed?
13.
As a Guardian ad litem you are tasked as being
neutral and unbiased in conducting your investigation and in making
recommendations.
a.
How do you maintain neutrality during your
investigation?
b.
How do you keep your personal bias and agenda
out of the cases?
c.
Does the judge provide supervision and oversight
when you are appointed to a case?
14.
As a child did you ever experience issues
involving the absence of one or both parents?
a.
YES – What was that experience like for you?
b.
NO – How can you understand what the issues are?
15.
Do you have experience with research in dealing
with child custody?
a.
YES - What specific research can you sight?
b.
NO – If not then please explain how you are able
to conduct an investigation?
16.
Please describe what was/ is the relationship
you had/ have with your Mother?
17.
Please describe what was/ is the relationship
you had/ have with your Father?
18.
Are there any ongoing issues with either?
19.
Did you grow up in a divorced home?
20.
Do you have siblings?
21.
Do you have Grandparents?
22.
As a child did you have contact with your
extended family?
23.
Do you come from a religious home?
a.
YES – What is your religion currently?
24.
Did/ do you come from a particular ethnic
background?
25.
We grow up with a belief system. It is a part of
what defines us as a person.
a.
Has your belief system ever interfered with an
investigation?
b.
Did/ will your belief system interfere with this
case?
c.
NO – How do we know?
26.
Do you apply your own values in making
recommendations to the court?
a.
YES – Can you describe what some of your
personal values (political, social as example).
i. If my
values are different than yours how will that affect your perception of me as a parent?
b.
YES – As a neutral observer – why are your
values better than either parent?
c.
NO – How can we be sure?
d.
NO – As a neutral observer – are you saying that
your investigation is neutral with regards to the values you have?
i.
If so then what test do you use to verify this?
ii. How can we be sure your values will not
influence how you view this divorce/ custody?
27.
In making your recommendations to this court
please explain how you arrived at the following:
a.
The visitation schedule?
b.
Custody?
28.
Have you ever been married?
a.
YES – How many times?
b.
NO – How are you able to understand the dynamics
of married life?
29.
Have you ever been divorced?
a.
YES – How many times?
b.
YES – Did you ever go through litigation?
i. YES – Did you have issues with child support?
ii. YES – Did you have issues with the custody
agreement(s)?
c.
NO – What experience do you draw upon in order
to understand what a divorcing family goes through?
30.
Do you ever refer cases you are involved in to
Child Protective services?
a.
YES – What are your criteria for such a
referral?
b.
YES – Is the claim of child abuse always a
criminal claim?
c.
YES – Should criminal allegations be removed
from Family Court to an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office?
31.
Which Judges do you frequently work with?
32.
Which lawyers do you work with on cases?
33.
How many of your cases have been appealed to a
higher court?
34.
Have you ever been sanctioned:
a.
By a Judge?
b.
By a Higher Court?
c.
The result of a complaint?
35.
How many cases have you been involved with as a
Guardian ad litem?
36. How do your clients respond to the work you do
as a Guardian ad litem?
While these questions should be asked before the
Guardian ad litem has been assigned by the judge - quite often it will
not be until after you recognize there is a problem with the way this
person operates. It is never to late to start asking. Make the questions
and answers for the record. If you have any questions which you think
may be appropriate we ask that you follow this [LINK] to submit. We will
maintain a running list of questions.
MeGAL is working for reform in our Family Court system. This
includes the role of Guardian ad litem, Parent Coordinator, Special Master and
court evaluators. If you have issues we ask that you contact us at MeGALalert@gmail.com or find us on
Facebook.
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