A guardian ad litem (GAL) is someone appointed by a court to represent the best interests of a child in a legal dispute. Guardians ad litem are usually lawyers, but their duty is to represent the child’s best interests, not advocate for the child’s desires.
A guardian ad litem is frequently appointed when parents are involved in a custody dispute. They are also commonly involved in child protection cases. If you are involved in a legal dispute with a co-parent or a child protection proceeding, contact a Toronto guardian ad litem lawyer to find out how we can help.
Court can be an intimidating place for a child. In the case of custody or child protection proceedings, for example, going to court as a witness would expose a child to conflict and could be damaging and traumatic.
A guardian ad litem represents the child’s interest in court so that the child need not be an active participant. In matters of custody and child protection, most judges feel the child’s opinion is an important consideration. The GAL finds out the child‘s opinion on the matter and transmits it to the court.
A lawyer serving as a child’s guardian ad litem in Toronto gets to know the child and their parents. The GAL must learn the child’s preferences regarding their circumstances, but also must investigate and objectively evaluate the matters at issue in the court case.
Each Toronto guardian ad litem has their own process, but there are some common tasks that all GALs must accomplish when representing a child in a custody or child protection matter. The most important is getting to know the child.
GALs usually try to interview a child in private, so that they may speak freely. In many cases, they will have multiple in-person meetings with the child and perhaps contact through text messages or video calls in between meetings. The purpose of the meetings is to get to know the child’s feelings about their circumstances; the child’s likes, dislikes, and interests; and to assess the child’s maturity and ability to evaluate the long-term impact of their decisions.
The GAL will also get to know the parents and any others living in the household. If the child is placed outside of a parent’s home, they will also get to know the child’s caregivers. The information they collect when visiting the homes and speaking with the children’s caregivers helps the GAL make a recommendation about the child’s best interests.
After a guardian ad litem completes their investigation, they submit a detailed report to the court. This report outlines the child’s circumstances and includes the GAL’s professional opinion regarding the resolution that aligns with the child’s best interests. Importantly, the GAL’s recommendations may differ from the child’s own preferences.
A Toronto guardian ad litem’s report is often specific, highlighting the factors that informed their recommendations. These reports provide the court with an objective view of the child’s home life and overall circumstances, offering valuable insight to assist the judge in making a well-informed decision.
While the judge is required to review the GAL’s report, they are not obligated to follow its recommendations. Judges have broad discretion to assign as much or as little weight to the report as they deem appropriate, depending on the case’s unique context and evidence presented.
A Toronto guardian ad litem lawyer provides an objective and nuanced viewpoint to the judge about your children’s best interests. They also serve as reliable communicators of your children’s opinions about the legal matter.
The lawyers at our firm can serve as GALs or explain how best to work with a GAL when representing you in a child custody or child protection matter. Get in touch anytime to learn more.
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