Meeting With The Guardian Ad Litem In many cases where there is an issue involving the parenting plan (especially if the issue is “where should the child reside the majority of the time”) there will be a need to involve some sort of parenting investigation. There are several types of parenting investigators (in this blog article I will focus on the options in King County Superior Court). The most common ones are court appointed guardian ad litems, social workers at Family Court Services and volunteers at CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates). Each type of parenting investigator (for that matter each parenting investigator) does an investigation a bit different than the others. One trait that they all share is a desire to see/meet the parents AND see how the parent interacts with the child (and how the child interacts with the parent). Obviously, there are a lot of factors that come into play in deciding issues that involve a parenting plan and the personal contact and observations are just one of them. But since you, as the parent, have some ability to prepare for these contacts and observations, it would be important to try and make sure that you do so. If the parenting investigator sets up and date and time for a meeting in his/her office, then it is very important that you be there on time. Showing up on time shows that you care about this process and take it very seriously. You do not have to show up in a suit or dress, but don’t come dressed like you are going to a summer picnic wearing shorts and sandals. You will want to be prepared to discuss on the issues that concern you (and the issues that concern the other parent about you). This, of course, will depend on what the issues are in the case. I normally like to go over the issues with my client prior to the meeting so he/she knows what to say (and what not to say) to the parenting investigator. It’s a fine line - on the one hand you do not want to sound like your comments are coming out of the mouth of your attorney, but you do want to make sure you do not say something you (later) regret saying. I call it being honest, but well informed. Along these lines, it should go without saying, that you need to be honest with the parenting investigator. That person will know everything that the other parent has raised as issues and will have (in all likelihood) read all the important documents as well. If you have some “weaknesses” in your case address them “head on” with the parenting investigator rather than play games - in most cases I suspect you will gain more points that way (also, it should be noted, that any issues you might have, should have been addressed by you (if at all possible) prior to seeing the parenting investigator - this, also, shows an willingness, on your part, to achieve your parenting plan goals). A home visit by the parenting investigator is designed to see what the child’s home environment is, as well as to see how the child and parent interact. Again, the goal is not to go “over board” - don’t have your home professional cleaned the day before the visit. On the flip side of the coin, don’t leave the home in a mess either. The parenting investigator will want to see the parent and child interact, so turn off the TV and take all of the electronic gadgets out of the livingroom (both the child’s and your’s). A few days before the meeting start doing some games with the child that allows for both of you to interact with each other. This might include coloring or doing a puzzle together. Similar to the office meeting, a little “rehearsal” can be useful, but the goal is to be as natural as possible. If there are issues that involve someone else in your family (say a new spouse or other relative)(and this is very fact specific, so talk to your family law attorney) I would tend to recommend that they also be at the home visit. The parenting investigator may be expecting them to be there (to meet them, etc.) and if they are not, then the parenting investigator may question why they are not (and this eliminates a chance to resolve any concerns by the parenting investigator). _________________________________________________ This blog article is not intended to convey legal advice, but only address some of the general rules. Most legal issues, in family law cases, depend on the specific facts. Should you wish to discuss your particular situation with the Law Office of Thomas A. Chillquist, please call or email my office. I am a family law lawyer (divorce attorney) and I represent parties in family law, and divorce, matters in King and Pierce County, Washington, including Kent, Federal Way, Covington, Renton, SeaTac, Des Moines, Fife, Auburn, Seattle, Bellevue, Puyallup, Orting, Tacoma and Mercer Island. Copyright Thomas A. Chillquist
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 22:30:05 +0000
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