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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My husband is in the army and we are getting ready to PCS out of state. He has joint custody of his 6 year old son with his ex, neither of them are listed as the primary parent. However, we have him 90% of the time and want to take him with us. He basically just sleeps at her house 2 nights a week and every other weekend. We feel like we have a really good case for multiple reasons that I can't put down with this character limit. His ex is aware of the move & wants their son to stay here. My question is, whats the best way to go about filling this w/the court because we cant afford a lawyer.
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If you have 50/50 custody and your ex takes your child to Mexico without permission, what paper can you file to prevent this from happening again?
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If a parent has been ordered to leave the residence due to domestic violence and it is documented that the same parent has not taken children to school as required and does not have a stable residence do they have a chance at getting custody
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My child's biological father lives in a different state. She is almost 3 years old now but we haven't seen him or heard from him since she was 4 months old. I did live in the same state as him but moved here for family since we had none after he left. How do I get sole custody of her? How much will it cost? Is there help I can get since we live on a budget?
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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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My sons father has contacted me wanting to see my 13 yr old son after no contact in 10 years. He has a bad criminal history. The last custody order 6 yrs ago said he could have supervised visits with his paternal gramma every other weekend overnight & phone contact when it coincides with my sons schedule. He didn't ever show up for ANY visits or even call. I have agreed to phone contact between them for a few weeks then supervised visits. How long should that last? He wanted to call everyday but I don't want him calling so much. Is asking him to call every other day okay? What are my options?
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I have been taking care of a 2 year old since he was 4 months old. His mother is in and out of prision and has had no contact with him, his father is about to go back to jail and has given me a POA but we want to sever mothers rights and move forward with adoption so hes legally mine but arent sure where to start
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My baby mom got a order of protection against me for both her and my son. After my 1 hr supervised visitation she is required to leave the area immediately but she waits around. The director of the program witness and she made a 3rd party affidavit confirming that she waits when she shouldn't. She also says she hears the extremely inappropriate things my son says. She made a police report stating I was following her BUT she should of been 20 minutes away from the area . I got arrested beat the case and now I want legal actions done against her ? What would be my first step What kind of lawyer
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I have a 4 year old, the father has been in prison for 4 yrs. His name isn't on the birth certificate, paternity has been established. went to court for child support. judge verdict; im financially responsible untill dads released.father was released dec 2012.we tried to work it out.I was the sole provider for him and my son financially.Father became physically abuse(towards me) had black outs, son was almost hit with a rock the last incident. no report filed , we moved states. dad is in prison till aug 27 2013(unrelated), what is best solution? full custody and restraining order??
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Me and my ex have a custody agreement but yet on my legal days she will not allow me to have him. How can she do that, and what are my rights? I do not feel I should have to pay child support if I am not being given my court ordered time. I also was wondering who is responsible for travel payment, because she moved out of state and will not pay to fly him to me for my legal days, she says I need to either pay to fly him out here or I can drive to Northern Arizona to get him if I want him on my legal days, can she do that?
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