Child Custody Article
What is a Court-Appointed Advisor and what is his or her function in a Family Law case?
You have a dispute with your child’s parent. One of you filed a petition or motion with the Court. The Court scheduled a Resolution Management Conference and at the conference, the Court tells you it is appointing a Court Advisor. Why? What happens now?
The Rules of Family Law Procedure provides for the appointment of a Child’s Attorney, Best Interest Attorney, or Court-Appointed Advisor. Each serves a different purpose. A Child’s Attorney or Best Interest Attorney act in a representative capacity – both participate in the case to the same extent as an attorney. On the other hand, a Court-Appointed Advisor is prohibited from taking any action that would only be permitted by a licensed attorney. However, a Court-Appointed Advisor can be especially helpful to the Court, in resolving disputes.
An order appointing a Court-Appointed Advisor must specifically state the reason for appointment, as well as the terms. For example, an Advisor is typically appointed in order to interview each party at their homes, review records – such as medical reports, school reports, emails or text messages, and police reports – speak to other interested parties, and often interview the minor child. The order will also state how the Court-Appointed Advisor will be compensated. Typically, the parties will be ordered to each pay 50% of the Court-Appointed Advisor’s fee, subject to reallocation. Therefore, the Court may order a party to pay a larger portion of the fee based on their unreasonable position, lack of cooperation, or other reason.
The Court-Appointed Advisor must have an opportunity to testify or to submit a report stating their recommendations regarding the best interest of the child and the basis for the recommendations. A Child’s Attorney or Best Interest Attorney are not allowed to testify or submit recommendations to the Court.
In order to qualify as a Court-Appointed Advisor, an individual must have received training or have experience in the type of proceeding in which they are appointed. Specifically, a Court-Appointed Advisor acts as more of a witness rather than a representative. The duties of a Court-Appointed Advisor are generally viewed as a witness or one who provides counsel or input. It is extremely important for you to cooperate with the Court-Appointed Advisor or comply with any requests of the Court-Appointed Advisor. You should treat the Court-Appointed Advisor with deference and respect. The recommendations of the Court-Appointed Advisor will be influenced by your cooperation and your honesty (or lack of) will likely be noted in the Court-Appointed Advisor’s report.
You, or your attorney, may question or cross-examine the Court-Appointed Advisor. However, it is important to remember that the Advisors appointed by the Court, appear before the judges often and are known to the Court. The Court views the Court-Appointed Advisor as an expert witness and relies on their recommendations.
A Court-Appointed Advisor may be especially helpful in a case where there are many factual disputes, an inability for the parties to cooperate, or the minor child is old enough to voice an opinion. Would a Court-Appointed Advisor be useful in your case? Possibly. It is important to consult with an attorney.
Contributing Attorney: Billie Tarascio litigates family law and domestic violence cases at Modern Law.
Comments:
QUESTIONS
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mi hija tiene 11 anos y tengo su justodia en mexico x q me case en mexico y el divorsio se llevo acabo en mexico la nina es ciudadana americana y su papa nunca se ha echo cargo de ella y no le interesa la nina ella lo conoce y el nunca a tratado de acercarse a eela si no obtiene algo acambio yo estoy casada de nuevo y queremos q la nina lleve el apeido de la familia poe que a sido complicado para ella no tener el apeido de la familia y aparte ella considera a mi esposo su papa y no al padre q la enjendro, ella convive cn mis esposo desde el 2004y el se a encargado de todo.
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Can I live in a different county and have joint custody?
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If the father of my child is on the Birth Certificate however is not living in AZ and comes to visit every 4 to 5 months for a few days, does he have rights to take her or can I as her mother say no because he is not involved with her other than the few times a year he shows up.
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My sons father and I went to court and a custody arrangement was ordered in court. my son's father hasn't used his visitation for 9 months. Yesterday he said he wanted to see him again. I brought my son to a public location to try to allow him to become familiar with his dad again but my son who is three was noticeably afraid During the visit my son's father said that if I did not let him immediately take his for court ordered visits he would inform the judge. What can I do to have the current order imediately changed so that he can get to know father agian before having overnight visits
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My child do want to go back after her weekend visit, cause she is having mental issues and is scared of her father. But he got custody of my child. Do I half to make her go?
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My ex broke up with me and kick me out the place we shared with our child. I had to move back to my home city which is in a different city then my child, and since our child is still in school I didn't want to move our child out of the school s/he went to. So had to leave my child with the dad. My child has stated that s/he wants to come live with me. So how do I get custody of my child.
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If I am.awarded no parenting time in a divorce does that mean I can't call or go near them or just that I can't be in charge of them?
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I have a son who his father and I aren't married but the father is on the birth certificate. His father just got out of prison and threatens me with leaving the state with my son. How do I get soul custody of my son?
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I’ve been trying to see my daughter after I allow her to move back home to Boston cause her moms boyfriend passed away and we came to agreement that we would try to make the trip accommodative. I’ve been to Boston in December to see her but her and her mom is suppose to bring her to Virginia to meet her grandmother who’s sick but she not living up to her side of the agreement. How do I fix this situation cause I wanna be around daughter more and she’s my only child I have
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How do I prove “child abandonment” from my child’s father in order for me to get sole custody. He put himself on child support but still doesn’t see our child. He goes weeks/months without seeing or asking for him, our child is barely 1 1/2.
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