What is a Guardian ad Litem?

Many parents handle their family law matters without an attorney and often the first time they’re surprised is when a guardian ad litem gets involved. I can’t find the statistic, but I recall hearing that over 80% of the family law cases in Rock County do not have either party represented by an attorney.

Even without an attorney, the beginning stages of a custody case usually make sense. You show up to the initial hearing, the judge asks whether the parents agree on a plan, and, if the answer is no, the judge sends the parents to mediation. The case ends if a deal is reached at mediation. If not, the parents are notified that a guardian ad litem has been appointed. At this point, most parents typically ask, “who the hell is that?”

The guardian ad litem (“ad litem” means “for the suit”), or GAL, is a court-appointed attorney whose job is to advocate for the best interest of the child. And yes, this person is always an attorney per Wisconsin law. (As a side note, I’ve always thought that social workers, child therapists, and teachers would all be better suited for the role than lawyers, but so far the Wisconsin legislature hasn’t asked for my opinion.) To figure out what is in the child’s best interest, GALs will usually interview the parents, the child (if they’re mature enough), and other people with information like teachers or medical providers. At the end of their investigation, the GAL will make a recommendation to the judge about how they think the case should be decided.

The judge can ignore the GAL’s recommendation, but in practice, the judge will almost always adopt the recommendation or something close to it. That means that the GAL is often times the most important decision-maker in the case.  I’ll write more about guardians ad litem and how to work with them in future posts, but the important thing to remember for now is that they will be incredibly important to your case and you should treat them accordingly.

2 replies
  1. Patricia McKenzie
    Patricia McKenzie says:

    My question concerning the GAL in.my daughters divorce is why she has not visited their home environment or met with at least my oldest grandchild who is six. Having met my daughter once has clearly shown bias against her and for my son in law who was found to have had numerous affairs throughout their marriage, incurred large debt via his failing business and has never watched his children on his own, yet wants full custody to avoid paying any support. My daughter, a stay at home.mom of three has been forced out of the house and given a month to do. The GAL wanted it to be two weeks. I have never heard of such a thing and my son in law tried to hire the GAL to replace his current attorney. Isnt that a conflict of interest?

    Reply
    • Walter Shannon
      Walter Shannon says:

      Hi Patricia.
      The Guardian Ad Litem cannot represent your son in law in the matter. That is a conflict. Further on your question, GALs are busy and often need the mothers and fathers to be proactive in cases. Instruct your daughter to seek quality legal representation so that her voice can be heard by the GAL and the court. Regardless, she needs to try to reach out to the GAL for interviews and provide information she tot he GAL the she believes will support the concept that shared placement is in the best interest of the children. The GAL’s opinion is very influential with the Judge.

      Please note this information is general in nature and is not legal advice. You need to seek advice from a qualified attorney in your area for actual legal advice.

      Reply

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