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Does My Child Need A Person To Talk To In My Divorce?
(provided by James H. Allison, Attorney at Law)
When there are serious confrontations between the parents over a custody and visitation schedule or when the fitness of a parent is called into question concerning his or her ability to take care of a child by themselves in their residence without supervision, it sometimes becomes necessary to appoint a Guardian Ad Litem for the child, whose duty it is to protect the child, and make decisions that are in the child's best interests at all times from beginning to end during the divorce process.
In those unfortunate cases where a mother or father uses a child as a pawn in the divorce case or has significant personal, physical, or health problems that prevent that parent from being a full-time custodian, a Guardian Ad Litem can and will be appointed by the court if requested. Many Guardians Ad Litem are attorneys in Ohio who have many years of experience in the domestic arena and bring a wealth of information to helping make decisions from the child's perspective while the parents are caught up in protracted personal litigation with each other.
The Guardian Ad Litem represents the child only. The mother and father each have their own attorneys who represent their interests. Any person, be it the Guardian Ad Litem or the attorney for the mother or father, may ask the court to appoint a clinical psychologist to perform a psychological evaluation of the parents in an effort to determine who is "a fit parent."
The Guardian Ad Litem meets on a regular basis with the child and discusses all matters that impact the child's life, including the relationship the child has with the mother, the father, the neighborhood children, school teachers, and other persons the child comes into contact with as a result of the divorce process. Most courts in Ohio have a list of qualified Guardians Ad Litem who are able and willing to make comprehensive investigations, reports and recommendations on what is and what is not in the child's best interests. The Guardian Ad Litem coordinates his or her work closely with the Clinical Psychologist appointed in the case, and between the two of them, can come up with a custody and visitation schedule that is a practical and economical way for the child to continue to have substantial and high quality time spent with each parent.
One of the most important functions of the Guardian Ad Litem's functions is to become a "best friend" of the child in those unfortunate cases where protracted litigation occurs in highly confrontational divorce cases. The Guardian Ad Litem meetings become a place where the child can go mentally and physically without stress or questions about everything the child observes or thinks about.
The Guardian Ad Litem will meet with both parents and ask pointed questions on all issues involving decisions to be made in the best interests of the child. Other persons that the child interacts with on a regular basis during the week will also be interviewed by the Guardian Ad Litem so that a comprehensive report and recommendation can be formulated by the Guardian to present to the court. Parents who refuse to accommodate recommendations of the Guardian are those who most likely caused issues to be developed in the case that resulted in the court having to appoint a Guardian Ad Litem in the first place. To the extent that a parent will not make decisions that are in the best interests of the child, the court can accept the Guardian's recommendation and issue Orders to protect the child, short-term and long-term.
Because of the intensity and in-depth reviews that are performed by most court appointed Guardian Ad Litems, the courts will lean very heavily toward accepting the Guardian Ad Litem's recommendations on what is in the child's best interests with respect to custody, visitation, school schedules, vacations, and holidays, and interactions with each parent. The court does not have to accept the Guardian Ad Litem's recommendation, but it is an unusual case where the Guardian's recommendations are not followed by the court. The Guardian Ad Litem is not a witness who testifies as such and is not cross-examined as a witness. The Guardian serves as a lawyer protecting the best interests of the child and presents reasoned arguments as to why the Guardian's recommendation should be adopted for the best interests of the child. The Guardian Ad Litem can cross examine witnesses of either parent during the trial and can present witnesses to the court where the Guardian deems it necessary to present a full picture of the facts.
In some cases, the court can appoint a lawyer for the child who will expressly represent the child's wishes to the court in contrast to the Guardian Ad Litem who makes a recommendation to the court based upon what the Guardian feels is in the child's best interests, which may not be the same as what the child wants done in the case.
Forcing a child to elect which parent the child wishes to live with in a contested custody cases is one of the worst predicaments that can be placed upon a child. The resulting guilt that a child suffers in being forced to make a decision between parents is one that will follow the child throughout the child's lifetime and will have an impact upon the child's relationship with the rejected parent forever. The most unfortunate cases are those where one parent buys the affection of the child through toys and gifts to influence the child's attitudes, especially in the cases where the children are very young. The financial ability of one parent over the other to provide more than the other parent can be abused and result in the children making decisions that are not based upon reality and not in the child's best interests. Quality care and concern for a child is based upon love, guidance, support, understanding, and security, not who is able to spend the most money on "things." Things will not sustain a child when it comes time for the child to make meaningful decisions in the child's best interests in the future when the inevitable choices are presented to the child, short-term or long-term.
The Guardian Ad Litem's fees are equally split between the parents unless there is a large disparity in income between the parents, in which case the court will assess the Guardian fees in a fashion very similar to the assessment of attorney fees based on the ability to pay and need for fees to be paid to the attorney or to the Guardian by either parent.
Information provided by:
James H. Allison, Attorney at Law located at
http://www.divorcesource.com/OH/DS/allison.html
Go to: Ohio Articles and Resources
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