custody evaluators Archives

Custody Evaluations Are a Terrible Idea

May 9, 2023

I was recently in court opposing a motion to appoint a custody evaluator in a child custody dispute case. I am generally opposed to child custody evaluations because of the way child custody evaluations are currently performed in Utah as…

Why is it OK for a parent to be given custody without their kids’ consent?

May 28, 2021

Divorce Utah

Best Interest of the Child, Child Custody, Child Custody Modification, Custody, Custody Evaluation, Divorce Fears, Divorce Law, Divorce Lawyers, Divorce Mistakes, Divorce Preparedness, Expert Witnesses, Family Law, Fathers' Divorce Issues, GAL (Guardian ad Litem), Holiday Parent-time, Joint Physical Custody, Judges, Legal Custody, Legal System, Men's Divorce Issues, Modification of Child Custody, Modification of Parent-time, Mothers' Divorce Issues, Noncustodial parents, Parent Time, Parental Alienation, Parental Fitness, Parental Rights, Parenting Plan, Women's Divorce Issues

child custody, child custody award, child custody cases, custody and parent time analysis, custody award, custody evaluators, desires Utah Code Section 30–3–10(5)(ii), directly, experiences, free of charge, guardians ad litem, interview children, judge interview, judge interview children, kids’ consent, kids’ input, less time, no cost, not on the record, not talk to children, observations, on the, opinions, plausible excuse, policy, preferences, thousands of dollars, value

Why is it okay for a parent to be given custody without their kids consent or at least their input? This is a great question. I can’t speak for all lawyers, and the laws and rules governing what the courts…

Recent thoughts about family law

Recent thoughts about family law I’ve been prompted recently to express my thoughts and opinions about the judiciary generally in the family law context. Here are a few thoughts I feel are worth sharing: – Too often litigants and attorneys…

GALs/custody evaluators waste money/time compared to judge interview

GALs and custody evaluators waste too much money and time, and can never provide the same accuracy as a judge’s direct interview of the child. This post is the fifteenth in series of 15 posts on the subject of custody…

What’s the benefit of having no record of the child’s interview?

January 18, 2021

Divorce Utah

Child Custody, Custody, Custody Evaluation, Discovery, Evidence, GAL (Guardian ad Litem), Judges

court record, custody evaluators, GALs, independently verifiable proof, interviewing children, judges, no record, record

What’s the benefit of having no record of the child’s interview? This post is the eleventh in series of 15 posts on the subject of custody evaluations and the appointment of guardians ad litem (“GALs” for short) in Utah child…

Do GALs or custody evaluators do a better job of interviewing children than judges do?

This post is the tenth in series of 15 posts on the subject of custody evaluations and the appointment of guardians ad litem (“GALs” for short) in Utah child custody cases when the judge could simply interview the children instead.…

Tag: custody evaluators

Custody Evaluations Are a Terrible Idea

Why is it OK for a parent to be given custody without their kids’ consent?

Recent thoughts about family law

GALs/custody evaluators waste money/time compared to judge interview

What’s the benefit of having no record of the child’s interview?

Do GALs or custody evaluators do a better job of interviewing children than judges do?