What does a guardian ad litem do, and what should you have ready?
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- A guardian ad litem, usually shortened to GAL, is appointed by the family court to look into a custody or visitation dispute and report back on what serves the best interest of the child. The GAL is not your lawyer and not the other parent’s lawyer.
- The GAL investigates. That means interviews with each parent and often the child, calls to teachers and doctors, a look at records, and in many cases a visit to each home.
- What the GAL asks for is mostly ordinary: the custody order, the parenting plan, school and medical records, and an honest account of how parenting time has actually gone. A dated record of your own days covers most of the last item.
- The GAL writes a report with recommendations. The judge considers it, but the judge decides, and either parent can challenge the report in court.
- The mistakes that cost parents are the same ones everywhere: coaching the child, running down the other parent, staging the home, and overstating.
- What does a guardian ad litem do in a custody case?
- When does the family court appoint a GAL, and who pays?
- With a GAL appointed, what happens first?
- What does a guardian ad litem look for?
- What happens during a guardian ad litem home visit?
- What documents should you have ready for the GAL?
- How do you cooperate with the GAL without overdoing it?
- What goes into the GAL’s written report, and how much weight does the judge give it?
- What should you not tell a guardian ad litem?
- What can you do if you disagree with the guardian ad litem’s recommendation?
- Frequently asked questions
What does a guardian ad litem do in a custody case?
A guardian ad litem is a person the court appoints to represent the best interest of a child in a case about that child. The appointment is for this case only. As the Legal Information Institute puts it, a guardian ad litem protects a child’s interests in a single case. In a custody or visitation dispute, the GAL’s job is to find out what is going on in the child’s life and tell the court what arrangement would serve the child, whatever either parent is asking for.
In practice the GAL is an investigator for the court, which is how Legal Aid of West Virginia describes the role. Depending on the state and the appointment order, that work usually includes some or all of the following:
- Interviewing each parent.
- Meeting the child, often more than once, and often in each parent’s home.
- Talking to the people around the child: teachers, daycare staff, pediatricians, counsellors, relatives, sometimes neighbours.
- Reviewing records, which is why you may be asked to sign a release for school, medical or mental health records.
- Observing the child with each parent.
- Writing a report for the court with findings and, in many courts, a recommendation.
- Attending hearings and, where the rules allow, testifying about the investigation.
Who serves as a GAL varies a great deal. In some states the GAL is always an attorney. In others, trained volunteers serve, sometimes through a court-appointed special advocate (CASA) program. The Minnesota Guardian ad Litem Board, for example, uses specially trained community volunteers and state employees. Some states draw a line between a guardian ad litem, who reports on the child’s best interest, and an attorney for the child, who argues for what the child says they want. Your own attorney can tell you which model your court uses and what the appointment order in your case actually says. Read that order. It sets the scope of what the GAL may do and how long they have to do it. In Maine, Pine Tree Legal Assistance notes that most appointments are limited to one or two issues.
When does the family court appoint a GAL, and who pays?
A court may appoint a guardian ad litem whenever it decides the child’s interests need a separate voice. In custody cases that most often happens when:
- Custody or visitation is contested and the parents’ accounts are far apart.
- One parent has raised allegations of abuse, neglect, substance use, or a mental health concern that bears on parenting.
- The conflict is high enough that the court wants an independent view before a final order.
- One parent files a motion asking for a GAL, or both parents agree to one.
Fees vary. Some GALs are trained volunteers. Where the GAL is paid, the court sets the rate and generally makes the parties responsible, either in equal shares or in shares based on each parent’s income. In some states you can ask for the fee to be waived if you cannot afford it. Ask your attorney what the order in your case says about fees, and what the GAL’s rate is, before the investigation starts.
With a GAL appointed, what happens first?
Most GALs open with a letter or an email, an intake questionnaire, and a request for dates. The questionnaire can be long: history of the relationship, the child’s schedule, the child’s health and schooling, your concerns about the other parent, and the arrangement you are asking for. The Ohio State Bar Association describes the usual order as an initial meeting and intake form, then a home visit where the GAL can see you with your child. Fill it in completely and on time. A parent who is slow to respond, or who answers with a paragraph where a page was asked for, has already told the GAL something.
Then come the interviews. Expect the GAL to ask about the child’s daily routine, who does school runs and medical appointments, how exchanges go, how you talk about the other parent in front of the child, and what you think should change. Answer the question that was asked. Do not bring a speech.
“When the Guardian ad Litem is first appointed, your attorney may advise you to contact the Guardian or may advise you to wait for the Guardian to contact you. In either case, maintain contact with the Guardian. Many Guardians have extensive questionnaires and packets for you to complete; make sure to complete these in a timely fashion.”
What does a guardian ad litem look for?
The honest answer is: the best interest of the child, as your state defines it. Every state lists factors, and the lists overlap heavily: each parent’s ability to meet the child’s needs, the stability of each home, the child’s relationship with each parent, each parent’s willingness to support the child’s relationship with the other, any history of abuse or neglect, and, for an older child, the child’s own wishes. Our guide to the best interest of the child checklist covers the common factors one by one.
Three of those factors come up in nearly every GAL investigation, and they are the ones your own record can speak to.
How each parent follows the court order and the parenting plan
If there is a temporary order or a parenting plan already in place, the GAL will want to know whether it is being followed. Missed exchanges, late returns, cancelled weekends, and schedule changes made without agreement all matter, and so does the reverse: a parent who showed up on time for every exchange for six months has a plain fact on their side. Dates and times, not adjectives, are what carry this.
The best interest of the child, not either parent’s case
A GAL is not there to decide who is the better person or who was wronged in the marriage. Parents who spend their interview time on the other parent’s failings, rather than on the child’s life, tend to come across worse, not better. Talk about your child: their routine, their friends, their school, what they are like on a Tuesday evening, what worries you about them and what you do about it.
Visitation, exchanges, and how parenting time actually went
The GAL will ask each parent how parenting time has gone. Two parents rarely tell the same story. What separates a credible account from a complaint is specificity: which weekend, what happened, what was said, what you did next. A parent with a dated record of their own parenting time can answer these questions in minutes and hand over the pages. A parent working from memory cannot.
Our guide to tracking actual parenting time covers how to keep that record day by day.
What happens during a guardian ad litem home visit?
Not every GAL visits the home, but many do, and for parents it is the part that causes the most worry. It should not. The GAL is not inspecting for a magazine. They want to see where the child sleeps, that the home is safe and reasonably clean, that there is food, that the child has space for schoolwork and belongings, and how the child behaves with you when nobody is performing.
What the guardian ad litem looks at in your home
- Sleeping arrangements: the child’s bed and room, or where they sleep if they do not have their own room.
- Basic safety: locks, medication and cleaning products out of reach for young children, working smoke alarms, anything a reasonable parent would check.
- Who else lives there or stays over, and how the child gets on with them.
- The child’s routine in your home: meals, homework, bedtime, screens.
- How you and the child are together. This is the one thing you cannot prepare, and the GAL knows it.
Do not stage the visit. A spotless house, a child in new clothes, and a fridge stocked for the occasion are noticed for what they are, and a child who has been told to behave will usually say so. Tidy as you would for a guest, keep the routine normal, and let the visit be ordinary. Our guide to preparing for a custody evaluation covers the same ground for an evaluator’s visit, and the advice is the same.
What documents should you have ready for the GAL?
GALs differ in what they ask for, and the appointment order may list it. Most of what any GAL wants is already in your possession. Gather it before the first interview so that you can hand it over when asked rather than promising to find it.
| What to gather | What it includes | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Your dated record of parenting time | Exchanges, missed or late parenting time, calls, medical appointments and school events, written on the day | Answers how the schedule has actually worked |
| School, medical and activity records | Report cards, attendance, teacher notes, the pediatrician’s visit history, counselling contacts, a list of activities | The GAL may ask you to sign a release to get them directly |
| The custody order and prior filings | The current order or parenting plan, temporary orders, the pleadings that led to the appointment | Shows you know what the order says |
| People the GAL could speak to | A teacher, a coach, a relative who sees the child weekly, with contact details | The GAL decides whom to call |
Your own dated record of parenting time and exchanges
A plain, dated account of exchanges, missed or late parenting time, calls with your child, medical appointments and school events, written on the day and in your own words. Kept as a running log rather than a reconstruction, it answers most of the GAL’s questions about how the schedule has actually worked. Do not edit it before handing it over, and do not add to it after the fact. A record is worth exactly as much as its dates are trustworthy. Our guide to how to document for a custody case covers what belongs in it.
School, medical and activity records
Report cards, attendance records, notes from teachers, the pediatrician’s visit history, therapy or counselling contacts, and a list of the child’s activities with who takes them. If the GAL asks you to sign a release so they can pull records directly, sign it. Refusing reads as having something to hide.
Our guide to organizing evidence for a custody case covers putting those records in order.
Copies of the custody order and any prior filings
The current order or parenting plan, any temporary orders, and the pleadings that led to the GAL’s appointment. Your attorney will have these. The GAL usually has them too, but a parent who arrives with a copy and knows what it says is a parent who has been paying attention.
You may also want a short list of people the GAL could speak to: the child’s teacher, a coach, a relative who sees the child weekly. Give names and contact details, and let the GAL decide whom to call. Do not ask those people to call the GAL for you.
Documented keeps a dated, sealed record of your own parenting time as it happens: the exchange, the call, what was said, on the day. When a guardian ad litem asks how the schedule has actually gone, the answer is already written down. See how it works.
How do you cooperate with the GAL without overdoing it?
Cooperate fully. Return calls, meet deadlines, be where you said you would be. The court can order you to comply with the GAL’s requests, and a parent who was hard to reach has handed the other side a point.
At the same time, do not turn the GAL into a correspondent. Daily emails, a stream of screenshots, and a binder of the other parent’s failings do not make you look organised; they make you look like the conflict. If something significant happens during the investigation, a missed exchange, a hospital visit, a police call, tell your attorney and let them decide whether and how to raise it with the GAL. One short, factual update is worth more than ten indignant ones.
Be honest, including about your own mistakes. GALs interview both parents and a good many other people. A parent who admits to the argument at the exchange in March is believed on the rest; a parent who denies it and is contradicted by the child’s teacher is not.
Never coach your child. Do not tell them what to say, do not ask them afterwards what they said, and do not quiz them about the other parent’s home. Children tell GALs when they have been prepared, and GALs write it down.
What goes into the GAL’s written report, and how much weight does the judge give it?
At the end of the investigation the GAL writes a report. It typically summarises the interviews, the home visits, the records reviewed and the child’s own statements, applies the best interest factors, and, in most states, recommends a custody and parenting time arrangement. In some jurisdictions the GAL is barred from recommending unless the judge asks, as South Carolina Legal Services explains for that state; in others the recommendation is the point of the report.
How much weight it carries depends on the judge. The court considers the recommendation before making its final order. The GAL is the only person in the case who has spoken to everyone and has no stake in the outcome, and judges know it. Reports are not rubber-stamped, though. The GAL is a witness like any other, and either parent, through their attorney, can cross-examine the GAL about the investigation, point out what was missed, and put on their own evidence.
“If you disagree with the GAL’s findings, you may raise your concerns with the court. During a hearing, you or your attorney can present counter-evidence, cross-examine the GAL, and offer additional testimony to support your position. While the GAL’s opinion is valuable, the final decision lies with the judge.”
What should you not tell a guardian ad litem?
The question comes up constantly, and the answer is less about secrets than about tone.
- Do not lie, and do not shade. GALs check. A single contradiction between what you said and what the school records show colours everything else you said.
- Do not diagnose the other parent. “Narcissist”, “alienator” and “unstable” are conclusions, and the GAL is the one drawing conclusions. Describe what happened and when, and let the label come from them if it comes at all.
- Do not tell the GAL what your child wants. Your child will tell them.
- Do not ask the GAL what they are going to recommend, and do not ask them for legal advice. They will not give either, and asking marks you.
- Do not say anything about the other parent that you would not want read aloud in court with them present. Assume the report will quote you.
- Do not bring up the other parent’s new partner, income or past unless it bears directly on the child’s safety or care.
What can you do if you disagree with the guardian ad litem’s recommendation?
First, read the report carefully with your attorney. Separate what the GAL got wrong on the facts from what you simply disagree with. Factual errors, a missed interview, a record never reviewed, a date that does not match your record, are the strongest ground for a challenge, and they are exactly what a dated record of your own lets you find.
Then your attorney has options: a written response to the report, cross-examination of the GAL at the hearing, and your own evidence and witnesses. The practical route is almost always to meet the report with better evidence rather than to attack the person who wrote it.
Our guide to preparing for a child custody hearing covers getting ready for the hearing where the report is heard.
Whatever you do, do not go around the GAL. Contacting the judge directly, refusing further cooperation, or telling your child what the report says are the three things most likely to turn a recommendation you dislike into an order you like less.
What this guide does not cover
- Your state’s rules for GALs. Who can serve, what the GAL may recommend and who pays all vary by state and by court. Your appointment order and your attorney settle these for your case.
- Child protection cases. This guide is about GALs in custody and visitation disputes between parents. A GAL in an abuse, neglect or dependency case works within a different process.
- A hearing that is days away. If the report is already out and the hearing is close, talk to your attorney now about responding to it. This guide is for the weeks before and during the investigation.
- Safety concerns. If you are worried about your child’s safety right now, contact local emergency services or child protective services first, then tell your attorney and the GAL.
Frequently asked questions
Is the guardian ad litem the child’s lawyer?
Usually not. A guardian ad litem reports on the child’s best interest, which may not be what the child says they want. Some states appoint a separate attorney for the child to argue for the child’s stated wishes, and a few states use one person in both roles. The appointment order in your case will say which.
Is a GAL the same as a custody evaluator or a CASA?
No, though the work overlaps. A GAL can ask the court to order psychological evaluations or other assessments, which someone else then carries out. A CASA, a court-appointed special advocate, is a trained volunteer who may serve as GAL in some courts, most often in abuse, neglect or dependency cases. Attorneys may also serve as GALs, depending on the state.
Does the GAL’s recommendation become the final order?
No. The GAL makes recommendations and the judge decides. The judge can adopt the recommendation, adopt part of it, or reject it, and either parent can challenge the report at the hearing.
How long does a guardian ad litem stay on a case?
Usually for the length of the case. If a later case involves the same child, for example a motion to modify custody, the court may reappoint the same GAL. In Ohio, the same GAL is reappointed whenever feasible.
Can I request a guardian ad litem in my own custody case?
Usually, yes. Your attorney can ask the court to appoint one, and the parties are generally responsible for paying the GAL. Ask your attorney whether a GAL would help your case before you ask for one; a GAL investigates both parents.
How we researched this
We read 6 sources for this guide: the Legal Information Institute’s legal dictionary, a state bar association’s public guide, a state guardian ad litem program page, and three legal aid guides from West Virginia, South Carolina and Maine. Every factual claim was checked against the passage it comes from before publishing, and a claim we could not trace to a source was cut or rewritten. Attorney quotes are reproduced word for word from the published article. How our guides are written.
References
This article explains general, well established concepts and is not legal advice. Documented is not a law firm. Who may serve as a guardian ad litem, what the appointment covers and who pays are matters of state law and local court rules, and they vary a great deal. Confirm specifics with an attorney licensed in your state or your court’s self-help center.
- Legal Information Institute. (n.d.). Guardian ad litem. Retrieved from https://www.law.cornell.edu/
- Legal Aid of West Virginia. (2021). What does a Guardian Ad Litem do in a Family Court Case?. Retrieved from https://legalaidwv.org/
- South Carolina Legal Services. (2025). Guardian ad Litem. Retrieved from https://sclegal.org/
- Ohio State Bar Association. (n.d.). A Guardian ad Litem Protects Best Interest of the Child. Retrieved from https://www.ohiobar.org/
- Pine Tree Legal Assistance. (n.d.). What is a Guardian ad Litem?. Retrieved from https://www.ptla.org/
- Minnesota Guardian ad Litem Board. (n.d.). What is a GAL?. Retrieved from https://mn.gov/
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Documented is a private, tamper-evident record of how you show up for your kids. This article is general information, not legal advice, and Documented is not a law firm.