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Watson Legal Services

GUARDIAN AD LITEM
A neutral voice for the child in a custody matter

When a custody case turns on what is truly best for a child, the court can appoint a guardian ad litem, an attorney whose only job is to represent the child's interests. Not one parent's position, and not the other's. The child's. 
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If you are in a custody dispute, this is something you can ask for. A parent can request that the court appoint a guardian ad litem, and can ask for a particular person to serve. I accept these appointments in Dauphin County and the surrounding counties, by the court, on the agreement of the parties, or on the recommendation of counsel. 

What a guardian ad litem does, and does not do

A guardian ad litem is the child's representative in the case, appointed when the court wants an independent assessment of what the child needs. I meet the child and the people who form the child's daily life, review the records that matter, and look past each side's version of events to what is actually happening for the child. From that, I prepare a recommendation for the court on the arrangement that serves the child's best interests. 


A guardian ad litem does not represent either parent and is not there to help one side win. The role is deliberately neutral, and holding to that neutrality is the standard I bring to every matter. 

What I bring to it

Genuine independence. A recommendation is only useful to the court if it is the guardian ad litem's own. I come to each matter without a thumb on the scale, and my conclusions follow the facts I develop, which is what makes them hold up when they are tested. 

Direct experience. I serve as guardian ad litem in private custody matters, and I have spent my career representing the interests of children and families. Standing behind an independent recommendation is work I do regularly, not occassionally.

A background that sharpens the assessment. Before private practice I held a senior role in state government overseeing eligibility for public benefits, work that intersected constantly with human services, disability, and family systems many of these cases touch. It gave me a trained eye for a child's real circumstances and a fluency in the records and institutions a custody matter often has to account for. 

How to request a guardian ad litem

For parents
​You do not have to wait for the court to raise it. If you believe your case would benefit from an independent voice for your child, you can ask your attorney to request a guardian ad litem or raise it with the court directly if you do not have an attorney. You can also ask that I be the person appointed. Being requested by one parent does not make me the parent's advocate. Once appointed, my obligation is to the child, and that is exactly what makes the recommendation credible to the court. 
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​For attorneys
​I accept appointments as guardian ad litem in private custody matters in Dauphin County and the surrounding counties. If a matter calls for one, you are welcome to name or recommend me to the court. A request made jointly, or on the agreement of both parties, keeps the appointment free of any question of bias from the start.