A Guardian ad Litem or GAL investigates parties’ claims about parenting and makes a recommendation to the Judge such as about custody and parenting. There is a cost which the court splits between the parties either 50/50 or based on income. In some cases the court can place nearly all the fees on the requesting party. Guardians ad Litems can be of help in cases involving allegations of abuse of children, substance abuse, obtaining information directly from the children, accessing CPS records, major disputes between the parents claims and where there is a large volume of evidence to review.
