Guardian Ad Litem For Massachusetts

More than 6,000 cases in the Probate and Family Court involved a Guardian Ad Litem (GAL).  Many of these cases used a GAL to provide child custody recommendations, although GALs may be used in other situations as well, such as trust and estate cases.  The presiding judge in a child custody case appoints a GAL when he or she determines that it is not possible to decide what is in the best interests of the child based solely on evidence and testimony presented in court.  GALs are usually attorneys or clinicians and are most often appointed in difficult custody cases, frequently involving allegations of sexual or physical abuse of the child or spouse or substance abuse by a family member.  Thousands of children caught in the middle of difficult divorce proceedings are impacted by the work of GALs every year.

In 1999, the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) enacted Rule 1:07 in order to increase participation by women and minorities among fee-generating appointments in the courts, including GALs.  Rule 1:07 created a rotating system that is now used to assign all GALs so that those on the list are appointed in sequential order unless a judge provides a written explanation for making an appointment out of order.  Under Rule 1:07, each court within the state court system is required to establish general standards for listing individuals as potential court appointees.  When a GAL is appointed, the judge outlines when the report is due, how many hours the GAL should work on the case, and what issues the GAL is to investigate.

The criteria to become a GAL in the Probate and Family Court are minimal, such as having sufficient malpractice insurance and being in good standing with the GAL’s licensing board for their underlying profession.  These minimal criteria do not address specific areas of expertise, for example, whether or not a GAL is qualified to identify signs of physical or sexual abuse.  Presently there is no structure in place to ensure that GALs entering the system from various professional backgrounds receive training in areas with which they are not familiar, but will encounter in their capacity as a GAL.