Guardians ad litem; mandatory appointment in custody or visitation cases involving a minor.

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Study on Guardians Ad Litem in Child Custody Cases

This law requires the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia to evaluate whether guardians ad litem should be appointed in all child custody and visitation cases.

What This Bill Does

• Requires the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia to evaluate how often guardians ad litem are appointed in child custody or visitation cases.
• Asks the office to look at factors that led courts to appoint a guardian ad litem when it was not mandatory.
• Directs the office to recommend whether making the appointment of a guardian ad litem mandatory would be beneficial, considering if there are enough qualified attorneys and potential delays in court proceedings.
• Requires the Office to submit its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly by January 1, 2027.

Who It Names or Affects

• The Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia
• Courts involved in child custody or visitation cases

Terms To Know

Guardian ad litem

A person appointed by a court to represent and protect the best interests of a minor child in legal proceedings.

Discretionary appointment

When a judge decides whether or not to appoint someone based on specific circumstances, rather than following a strict rule.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify what will happen after the evaluation is completed.
• It does not provide funding for the study or address how the recommendations will be implemented.

Official Summary Text

Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia; guardians ad litem; mandatory appointment in custody or visitation cases involving a minor.
Requires the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia (OES) to evaluate the current discretionary appointment of a guardian ad litem in cases where the custody or visitation of a minor child is at issue. The bill requires OES to make a recommendation as to whether the appointment of a guardian ad litem shall be mandatory in all such cases, and to consider the potential impacts of making such an appointment mandatory, including possible delays in hearings if there is not an adequate number of qualified attorneys capable of assuming such duties for the increased number of cases, and any fiscal impacts. The bill directs OES to submit its evaluation, including any observations and recommendations, to the General Assembly no later than January 1, 2027.

Current Bill Text

A BILL to require the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia to evaluate the use of guardians ad litem in court proceedings involving custody or visitation of a child.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.
§ 1.
The Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia
(the Office)
shall
evaluate the use of guardians ad litem in court proceedings involving custody
or visitation
of a child
.
In conducting the study,
the Office
shall
identify
the number of
cases where custody or visitation
of a
minor
child
is at issue
, whether in circuit court or district court,
and
where a guardian ad litem was appointed to represent the child
, as compared to the number of cases where a guardian ad litem was not appointed
.
In cases where a guardian ad litem was appoint
ed to represent the best interests of the child, and
such case does not involve allegations of
child
abuse, neglect, or abandonment
necessitating the mandatory appointment of a guardian ad litem,

the Office
shall endeavor to determine
consistent factors in such cases that led the court to make such discretionary appointment.
Such factors may include contested custody cases or contested visitation
schedules
where the court determines the best interest of the child is not
otherwise adequately represented,
or other criteria as enumerated in §
20-124.3
of the Code of Virginia
.

Upon review
and evaluation of such
cases
involving
custody or visitation,
the Office
shall
make
a
recommendation
as to whether the appointment of a
discreet and
competent attorney-at-law
,
who is qualified pursuant to §

16.1-
266.1
of the Code of Virginia
as a guardian ad litem to
represent the best interests of the child
,
shall be mandatory in all cases where
the
custody or visitation
of a minor child is at issue.
In
determining such
recommendation,
the Office
shall
additionally
consider

(i)
whether there are enough qualified attorneys who could be appointed as a guardian ad litem
to meet the
increase
d

number of
cases where such appointment is mand
atory
;

(ii)
the overall

number of cases in which a guardian ad litem would
be mandatorily appointed, and
determine
associated
impacts and potential delays in case proceedings in instances where there are fewer
available
qualified attorneys to act as a guardian ad litem
;

and
(iii)

the
potentia
l costs associated with the appointment of guardians
ad litem
in cases where the parents or parties are determined to be indigent or
unable to pay the required reimbursement for costs of such services performed by the guardian ad litem
.
The

Office
shall submit the results of
its
evaluation and any observations and recommendations to the General Assembly no later than January 1, 2027.