What Guardian Ad Litems Look for in Investigations

Whenever a child is involved in a family law court case, it is common for everybody to be represented by an attorney except for the child. The Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) is a person appointed by the court to represent the child in court and to make specific recommendations to the court regarding the best interests of the child. The role of GAL is not exactly the same as being an attorney for the child. The GAL has to consider the child's wishes, but also is required to make an independent judgment of what is in the best interest of the child, even if that is not what the child wants.

Generally, the GAL has a duty to familiarize himself or herself with the case prior to the trial or hearing; to find out the child's wishes by meeting with the child (or by meeting with others involved in the case if the child is too young to express wishes); to gather information and arrange the presence of necessary witnesses for the hearing; to represent the child in court at the hearing, and to advise the Court as to the child's wishes and the GAL's recommendations (if asked for).

As attorneys, we're frequently asked what the GAL tends to look for. Here's a list of what we've been told is the beginning of their checklist:

Children who are acting out or withdraw, refusing to go to school, caretaking and filling adult roles, constantly seeking attention (often labeled as ADHD), bedwetting, nightmares, difficult to set limits, hitting adults, regressing...those who are full of guilt, shame, fear, anger, confusion, grief, insecurity, etc.

On a social note, GALs often look for those children who have patterns of isolation, those who are overly social, have difficult in trusting others, poor conflict resolution skills, may be passive or bullying with playmates, or those with poor images or anything that is stereotypically female.