Child custody litigation is rarely easy.  Emotions are skyrocketing. Tensions are high. Usually the parents are dealing with a dissolved marriage or relationship. Even children often absorb the ongoing stress of child custody litigation.

Some circumstances may require a rushed trial.  This could be due to an imminent threat of danger to the minor child or even one of the parents trying to leave the state with the minor child.  However, some custody cases benefit from taking the time to have a thorough evaluation performed by a child custody evaluator. 

Child custody evaluators are mental health professionals, often chosen by the court to evaluate a child’s home life in order to acquire a better overall picture of what situation for the child is best. A child custody evaluator will often immerse themselves in the child’s daily routine, ask questions of the parent and the child, and then eventually make a recommendation to the court regarding the child’s residence, visitation, and parenting.

While experienced family law attorneys are well versed with the legal nuances and pitfalls of a child custody case, they are not mental health professionals. Additionally, child custody evaluators are expected to be independent of bias, making an eventual recommendation in the best interest of the child.

La. R.S. 9:331 sets forth the role that a child custody evaluator may play in a pending child custody case.

Specifically, 9:331 states that “[t]he court may order an evaluation of a party or the child in a custody or visitation proceeding for good cause shown. The evaluation shall be made by a mental health professional selected by the parties or by the court.  The court may render judgment for costs of the evaluation, or any part thereof, against any party or parties, as it may consider equitable.” 

If there aren’t any emergency concerns in your child custody case, it may be best for litigants to get a child custody evaluation for several reasons:

1.      Less Attorney’s Fees and Costs

Child custody evaluators aren’t typically cheap. They often charge a retainer of at least two thousand ($2,000.00) dollars.  While that may seem expensive, hiring an attorney to take your case to trial can be a lot more expensive than an evaluator.  For example, if you are paying your lawyer $200 per hour and they spend 25 hours preparing for a trial, you are looking at $5,000.00 in attorney’s fees alone.  Most of the time, these attorney’s fees will be your sole responsibility.  If you are splitting a retainer for a child custody evaluator it will likely be less expensive than a full-blown custody trial.  

2.      Less Conflict

During custody evaluations, most parents are well advised by their lawyers to avoid conflict and focus on parenting the child.  As a result, some parents who are used to hostile interactions with each other, are essentially forced into communicating peacefully.  Sometimes the parents have improved co-parenting as a result of the ongoing evaluation.  Of course, this does not apply to all circumstances. However, better co-parenting is a common outcome of a child evaluation. The parents may also avoid a contentious child custody trial in which blood pressures are raised and mudslinging is commonplace. The co-parenting relationship between parents sometimes never fully recovers from the experience of a bitter custody trial.

3.      A More Thorough Examination of the Facts

Custody trials can take several hours or they can take several days. Regardless, when an evaluator sits down with the parents, meets with the minor child, and actually visits the parents in their respective houses, you can be assured that details will be considered by the evaluator and ultimately put into his/her report. Often time during a trial that lasts several hours, people’s lives and experiences are summarized in quick bits. Even worse, distortion of the facts is a routine occurrence among litigants.  These distorted facts may be taken as the truth.  A child custody evaluator can let the parents be truly heard in a non-combative environment.

Conclusion

Not all child custody cases require a child custody evaluator. However, some will benefit greatly from an evaluation.  The parents should have a candid discussion with their lawyers about the pros and cons of evaluators BEFORE they go to trial for everyone’s benefit and most importantly, the minor child(ren).  Ask an experienced family law attorney about your options.