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Guardian ad Litem and Custody Evaluator

The two neutrals a court most often appoints in a contested custody case - what a guardian ad litem does and does not do, how it differs from a child's attorney and from a custody evaluator, who pays, what they may see, and how their reports are used at trial.

Informational only - this is not legal advice. These definitions explain general legal vocabulary in plain English. They are not advice about your situation, reading them creates no attorney-client relationship, and the law differs from state to state and changes over time. For advice you can rely on, speak to a lawyer licensed in your state.

Looking for a lawyer rather than a definition? Skip to the state-by-state list of law firms for this.

What it means

A guardian ad litem ("for the suit") is a person the court appoints to represent a child's interests in a case about that child - most often a contested custody or visitation dispute, a dependency or abuse case, or a termination or adoption proceeding. The appointment lasts for the case only. In most states the guardian ad litem is a lawyer, in others a trained volunteer or a court-appointed special advocate, and the role differs from that of a lawyer for the child: an attorney for the child advocates the child's expressed wishes; a guardian ad litem investigates and reports what they conclude the child's best interests require, which may not be what the child wants. Some states appoint both, and some let the court choose which role fits the child's age.

The guardian ad litem interviews the child, the parents and others who know the family, visits each home, reviews school, medical and court records, and may speak to counselors and teachers; the order of appointment gives them access to records that would otherwise be confidential. They then report to the court, usually in writing, with findings and a recommendation on custody and parenting time. The report is evidence, not a decision: the judge is not bound by it, the parties may cross-examine the guardian ad litem at trial, and a parent who disagrees can call their own witnesses. Because the report often carries great weight in practice, how a parent deals with the guardian ad litem - candidly, promptly and without coaching the child - frequently matters more than any filing.

A custody evaluator is different again: a licensed psychologist or other mental-health professional appointed under a court rule to conduct a forensic evaluation, which may include psychological testing of the parents, structured observation of each parent with the child, and collateral interviews, ending in a written evaluation with recommendations. Evaluations are expensive and slow, are ordered mainly where there are allegations of abuse, mental illness, substance misuse or alienation, and are subject to the same cross-examination and rebuttal as any expert report. Fees for both roles are set by the court and allocated between the parents, with the county or the state paying in indigent and dependency cases. The child's statements to either neutral are generally not privileged, and a parent who wants the child heard directly may instead ask for a private interview of the child by the judge, which most states allow at the court's discretion.

Where this comes from

Guardians ad litem are creatures of state statute and court rule: the family, probate and juvenile codes of each state, and rules such as Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 17(c) and its state counterparts for a minor party generally. In abuse and neglect cases the appointment is required as a condition of federal child-welfare funding by the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, 42 U.S.C. § 5106a(b)(2)(B)(xiii). Custody evaluations are governed by state court rules (California Rules of Court, rule 5.220, is a detailed model), and the professional standards most evaluators follow are the American Psychological Association's Guidelines for Child Custody Evaluations in Family Law Proceedings (2022) and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts' Model Standards of Practice for Child Custody Evaluation. The confidentiality of the child's statements, the availability of a judicial interview of the child, and the allocation of fees are each state's own.

When people hire a lawyer for this

A parent in a case where a guardian ad litem or evaluator has been appointed is at the stage where the outcome is being shaped outside the courtroom, and a lawyer's most useful work is often preparing the parent for the interviews and home visit, assembling the records the neutral will ask for, and deciding whether to seek a second opinion or a rebuttal expert when the report is adverse. A parent who cannot afford a lawyer should at least ask the court to appoint the neutral and allocate the fee, rather than agreeing to a private evaluator whose cost may be unrecoverable.

Worried about the cost? A lawyer can be hired for one part of a case only (limited-scope representation), may be paid from what a claim recovers (contingency fee), or may be free through a pro bono program or legal aid; a court can also waive its own filing fees.

Find a lawyer for this in your state

Choose your state to see Child Custody law firms in the city where we list the most; your city may be under “other cities”, A to Z. A state marked “Family Law” has no Child Custody listing yet and opens the broader page.

Alabama (Birmingham)
+1 other city
- Montgomery
Alaska (Anchorage)
Arizona (Glendale)
+6 other cities
Arkansas (Little Rock)
California (Fremont)
+19 other cities
- Anaheim
- Chula Vista
- Irvine
- Los Angeles
- Modesto
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- Oxnard
- Riverside
- Sacramento
- San Diego
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- and 7 more with fewer listed firms
Colorado (Colorado Springs)
+2 other cities
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Connecticut (Bridgeport)
Delaware (Wilmington)
District of Columbia (Washington)
Florida (Orlando)
+5 other cities
Georgia (Atlanta)
Hawaii (Honolulu)
Idaho (Boise)
Illinois (Chicago)
Indiana (Fort Wayne)
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Iowa (Des Moines)
Kansas (Kansas City)
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Kentucky (Lexington)
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Louisiana (Baton Rouge)
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Maine (Portland)
Maryland (Baltimore)
Massachusetts (Boston)
Michigan (Detroit)
Minnesota (Minneapolis)
+1 other city
- Saint Paul
Mississippi (Jackson)
Missouri (St. Louis)
+1 other city
- Kansas City
Montana (Billings, Family Law)
Nebraska (Lincoln)
+1 other city
- Omaha
Nevada (Henderson)
+3 other cities
New Hampshire (Manchester)
New Jersey (Jersey City)
+1 other city
- Newark
New Mexico (Albuquerque)
New York (Buffalo)
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North Carolina (Fayetteville)
+5 other cities
North Dakota (Fargo)
Ohio (Cincinnati)
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Oklahoma (Tulsa)
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- Oklahoma City
Oregon (Portland)
Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)
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Rhode Island (Providence)
South Carolina (Columbia)
South Dakota (Sioux Falls)
Tennessee (Nashville)
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- Memphis
Texas (Dallas)
+12 other cities
Utah (Salt Lake City)
Vermont (Burlington)
Virginia (Chesapeake)
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Washington (Spokane)
+2 other cities
- Seattle
- Tacoma
West Virginia (Charleston)
Wisconsin (Madison)
+1 other city
- Milwaukee
Wyoming (Cheyenne)

Related terms

Other entries in the same area of law, each written from the same primary sources.

AdoptionThe court order that makes a child legally the son or daughter of someone other than the birth parents - the kinds of adoption, whose consent is required, how the birth parents' rights end, the home study and the hearing, and what the order changes about inheritance, records and the child's name.
Annulment (Void and Voidable Marriage)A court judgment declaring that a marriage was never valid, as distinct from a divorce that ends a valid one - the difference between a void and a voidable marriage, the grounds each state recognizes, who may bring the case, and what an annulment does to property, support and children.
Child SupportMoney one parent pays the other toward a child's living costs, set in most cases by a state formula rather than by negotiation.
Common-Law MarriageA marriage formed without a license or ceremony by living together as spouses and holding yourselves out as married - which states still allow it, what has to be proved, why every state recognizes one validly formed elsewhere, and what it means for property, support and inheritance when the relationship ends.
Dividing Retirement Accounts in Divorce (QDRO)How pensions, 401(k) plans and IRAs are divided at divorce without tax or penalty - what a qualified domestic relations order is and why a divorce decree alone is not enough, the difference between a defined-benefit and a defined-contribution split, the plans that need a different order, and the mistakes that cost a former spouse the share the decree awarded.
Establishing PaternityThe legal step that makes a man a child's father in law - and signing the hospital form is one of two routes, not a formality.
Grandparent and Third-Party VisitationWhen a court can order that a child spend time with a grandparent, step-parent or other non-parent over a parent's objection - the constitutional limit set by the Supreme Court, the circumstances in which state statutes allow a petition, the special weight a fit parent's decision receives, and what a petitioner must prove.
Grounds for DivorceThe legal basis a divorce is granted on - and in every state today at least one basis requires proving no wrongdoing by anyone.
Guardianship of a MinorA court order giving an adult who is not the parent legal authority over a child's care, or over the child's property, without ending the parents' rights - how it differs from custody and adoption, who can be appointed, what the parents keep, and how it ends.
Legal and Physical CustodyTwo different things the word "custody" covers: who makes major decisions for a child, and where the child lives.
Legal SeparationA court status in which spouses live apart with binding orders on support, property and children, while remaining married.
Marital Property DivisionHow a court splits what a couple owns - and "equitable" means fair in that state's judgment, which is not the same as half.
Modifying a Custody or Support OrderChanging an existing family court order - which usually requires proving something has changed, and never happens by the parents' agreement alone.
Parenting Plan and VisitationThe written schedule and decision-making rules for a child after separation - and the document courts increasingly require rather than invite.
Prenuptial AgreementA contract made before marriage about property and support - enforceable in every state, and set aside more often than most people expect.
Protective Order (Restraining Order)A court order telling one person to stop contacting or coming near another - enforceable by police, and valid across state lines.
Relocating With a ChildMoving a child away from the other parent - the family law dispute most likely to require the court's permission before the move, not after.
Spousal Support (Alimony)Payments from one former spouse to the other - discretionary in most states, and taxed differently for instruments made after 2018.
Termination of Parental RightsThe court order that permanently ends the legal relationship between a parent and child - the grounds a state must prove, the heightened standard of proof and right to counsel, the difference between voluntary relinquishment and an involuntary petition, and what the order does and does not end.

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Part of the LawyerLand plain-English legal glossary. Definitions are written from primary sources - statutes and court rules - and each entry states the authority it rests on, or says plainly when the doctrine is state law with no national rule.

If you cannot afford a lawyer, civil legal aid programs provide free help with many of these problems: civil legal aid programs by state.

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