Questions to Ask Guardian Ad Litem
Questions for a parent or caregiver to ask the guardian ad litem appointed in a custody or dependency case, covering their role, their process, confidentiality and the report.
The questions
Open any question for the note
What is your role in this case, and who appointed you?
Why ask it
Start here because the title covers several different jobs. Whether the court appointed them, and under what order, sets the limits of what they can do and how long they stay involved.
Are you an attorney, a volunteer advocate, or something else, and what does that change?
Why ask it
Practice varies by state and sometimes by county. In some places the guardian ad litem is a lawyer representing the child, in others a trained volunteer who investigates and reports, and the difference affects what they can file and what they can be asked.
Who pays for your work, and what should I expect it to cost?
Why ask it
Some appointments are funded by the court and some are billed to the parents, often split. Ask for the hourly rate, how you will be billed and whether a retainer applies, in writing if possible.
Before you write your report, who will you interview and what records will you read?
Why ask it
Their list tells you whether the investigation is broad or narrow, and it lets you spot a person who should be on it and is not. A written list is easier to follow up on than a verbal one.
Will you meet my child alone, and where?
Why ask it
Knowing the setting lets you prepare the child in the plainest terms without coaching them. It is also reasonable to ask whether more than one meeting is planned.
How many times do you expect to meet each of us?
Why ask it
A single interview with each parent produces a thinner report than several. If the plan is one short meeting, ask what else they will rely on.
Is anything I tell you confidential, or does all of it go into the report?
Why ask it
Assume nothing is private until they say otherwise, because a guardian ad litem is generally not your advocate. Ask this before you discuss anything sensitive, and ask your own attorney as well.
Do you speak with the judge outside of hearings?
Why ask it
Local rules differ on this and it affects how much weight informal impressions carry. The answer also tells you how carefully to treat every interaction with them.
What are you looking for when you visit my home?
Why ask it
Most answers are practical: sleeping arrangements, safety, food, whether the child seems at ease. Hearing it in advance removes a great deal of anxiety and helps you prepare honestly rather than perform.
Will you contact my child's school, doctor or therapist, and do you need me to sign a release?
Why ask it
Records access usually requires a signed release or a court order. Asking now avoids a delay later that looks like reluctance on your part.
How much weight does the court usually give your recommendation?
Why ask it
The honest answer is that judges are not bound by it but often follow it. Their own description of that weight tells you how seriously to treat the report.
Will I see the report before the hearing, and can I respond to it?
Why ask it
Disclosure rules vary and so does the notice period. Knowing the date you get it determines how much time you and your attorney have to prepare a response.
What is your timeline, and what would delay it?
Why ask it
Cases stall on missing records, an unavailable parent or a full court calendar. If you know the usual causes of delay you can avoid being the cause of one.
Is there anything you have asked me for that I have not provided?
Why ask it
A simple check that catches the letter that never arrived or the release that was not signed. Unmet requests read as avoidance in a report, even when they were an oversight.
Is there anything so far that concerns you about my household?
Why ask it
Difficult to ask and worth asking, because a concern you hear now can be addressed before it is written down. Take a note of the answer and repeat it back to be sure you have it right.
How do you weigh what my child says against what you think is best for them?
Why ask it
This is the central judgment in the job, and how they describe it shows how they will handle a child who says different things to different adults. Age and maturity usually feature in a considered answer.
What do parents in this situation do that damages their own case?
Why ask it
You get the pattern they see repeatedly: messages to the other parent, discussing the case with the child, missed visits. This is often the single most useful thing they will tell you.
What should I do if my child talks to me about your visit?
Why ask it
Children raise it, and the safe response is not obvious. Ask for their guidance so that reassuring your child does not later look like influencing a witness.
If I disagree with your recommendation, what are my options?
Why ask it
There are usually procedural answers: a response through your attorney, cross-examination at the hearing, evidence of your own. Hearing them now keeps a difficult report from feeling like the end of the matter.
Who do I contact if I have a concern about how this is going, and how quickly should I expect a reply?
Why ask it
Sets a reasonable expectation and gives you a route for complaints that is not the judge. If they name a supervising office or program, write the name down.
Working with a guardian ad litem
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before your first meeting
This is general information, not legal advice
Procedure differs by state, by county and by the terms of the appointing order. Check anything that matters with your own attorney before you act on it, particularly what you may withhold and what you must disclose.
Read the appointing order
It states the scope of the appointment, who pays, and what the guardian ad litem is directed to investigate. Most of the questions people worry about are answered in that document.
Assume the meeting is part of the record
A guardian ad litem is not your representative and is generally not bound to keep what you say private. Speak accurately rather than defensively, and do not guess at facts you are unsure of.
Bring documents rather than descriptions
School reports, medical appointments, a calendar of who collected the child, messages about scheduling. Dated records are easier for an investigator to use than an account of how things usually go.
During meetings and the home visit
- Answer about your own household and your own arrangements. Extended criticism of the other parent tends to be recorded as conflict rather than as evidence.
- Keep a dated log of every contact: who called, what was asked for, what you sent and when.
- Follow verbal requests with a short email confirming what you understood, so there is a record of both the request and your response.
- If you do not know an answer, say so and offer to find out, rather than estimating.
- Do not prepare the child on what to say. Explain who is coming and that it is fine to be honest, and leave it there.
- Ask for clarification if a question seems to rest on something you have not been told. It is reasonable to know what has been alleged.
The report and afterwards
Ask when it lands
Get the expected filing date and the notice period in advance, then schedule a call with your attorney for the same week. Late reports are common and preparation time is short.
Read it for factual errors first
Dates, names, addresses and the sequence of events are the easiest things to correct and the most damaging if left. Separate errors of fact from conclusions you disagree with, because they are handled differently.
Respond through the process, not directly
Concerns about a recommendation go to your attorney and into the hearing. Angry messages to the guardian ad litem end up in the file.
Keep the child out of it
Whatever the report says, the child should not be told about its contents or asked what they said. That is the part a court notices most.