Ask The Lawyer – The “Guardian Ad Litem”

I love Netflix and Amazon Prime.  I like the idea of watching an entire TV series in a week. I just finished watching The Guardian. It was an American drama series which aired on CBS from September 25, 2001 to May 4, 2004. The main character, Nick Fallin, is a corporate attorney who gets arrested for drug possession. He is sentenced to 1500 hours of community service where he is forced to be a Guardian Ad Litem.

A Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) is a legal guardian appointed by the court to guard the interests of another person. GAL’s are frequently appointed in custody disputes, especially when the court is concerned that one or more parents are acting against the children’s interests. Poor Nick Fallin has been representing the well to do white collar adults of corporate law.  Now he is representing children who are neglected, abused, or abandoned.

This show appeals to me because the issues attorney Fallin deals with are very similar to issues that I deal with. I also have had the training to be a Guardian Ad Litem.

I often represent children.  These children may have no living parents, or the parents are very young and unable to care for their children.    It is the duty of a GAL to be at court proceedings to make sure the child is being protected. We often do home studies to guarantee that the home where the child lives is safe, clean and appropriate. We interview the minor if they are old enough.  We also interview the parents, relatives and sometimes the neighbors. If the state child protection services are involved we attend meetings along with foster parents, social workers, and parents to set up goals that must be met. Almost always these goals include having transportation, safety restraints, a driver’s licenses, a regular paying job, complete parenting classes.  Sometimes the goals also include completing a drug rehabilitation program and anger management.

The court places on the GAL the responsibility of investigating designated issues and making recommendations to the court. Issues can include parenting responsibility, parenting schedules, ability of either parent, influence of significant others, and special needs of the children.

Whenever the court becomes aware that a child has been neglected, abused, or abandoned it must have a hearing within 72 hours. If the parents cannot afford an attorney they must have one appointed to them.  Sometimes the hearings have an attorney for both the mother and the father, an attorney for the state, an attorney for the person who brought the petition and an attorney acting as a GAL. The GAL only job is to protect the child.

Nick Fallin is a television attorney in Pittsburgh. His work with disadvantaged children is very similar to the very real work done right here in Alabama.