Any experiences where judge agreed or disagreed with the GAL?
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The gal in Dh's case is favoring his side and shared his opinion way more than what gals usually do(he even said so himself). Any experiences where the judge either agreed or disagreed with the gal?
The GAL & the counselor in
The GAL & the counselor in Dh's case were both in favor of actively enforcing his visitation. They said the kids had been too long without their dad & would greatly benefit from rebuilding their relationships with him.
The judge put it on the kids (13 & 15 at the time) & left visitation up to them.
I am a GAL. I find that
I am a GAL. I find that almost always the judge takes my recommendations. She or he may alter them a bit, but they are never outright rejected.
Thank you. If one party
Thank you.
If one party requests a continuance and the two lawyers meet with the judge, is the.gal present? Bm is trying to get it continued and we were just wondering. Our lawyer is in court w another client atm.
The GAL will be present at
The GAL will be present at all meetings with the judge by the parties - because the GAL is a party.
What is the continuance about?
Sometimes the GAL will say
Sometimes the GAL will say things that appear to favor one side or the other just to see the reactions and whose guard will slip. It's an investigative tool. I have caught more people out on body language and slips like this than you can imagine. Now, I don't base my decisions on those things alone obviously, but sometimes if you just watch how people react when they think they have won/lost, you find out a great deal. For example, once I proposed a scenario to a mom, which would have been based on her "winning" - and she reacted with laughter at how it would serve her ex right, that she would laugh all the way to the bank. That told me a great deal about her motives.
Be honest and be careful - never make your court battles a personal vendetta against the other parent. That alone makes you the bad parent. Keep it about what is good and right for the kids - which almost always means talking about the other parent respectfully and honoring the bond that the other parent has or should have with the kids.
The Judge disagreed with the
The Judge disagreed with the GAL on my husband's last court hearing. She said that 50/50 joint custody is the wrong choice for a school aged child whose parents do not live near one another. She also recommended that BM not be allowed to have overnight guests, that BM go to counseling and attend parenting classes and that BM refrain from using corporal punishment and that none of BM's bfs discipline the skid. The Judge upheld the 50/50 she put in place when this kid was 6 mo old, and did not order the BM to do any of the things recommended.
Dh's judge went somewhat in
Dh's judge went somewhat in favor to gal suggestions but did not use recommendations gal made about dh having kids more judge actually took some of dh's time away because bm cried about not having enough quality time with kids :?