What Does an Ohio Guardian Ad Litem Do?

Columbus Child Injury Lawyer Explains the Process

Video Transcript:

Michelle Martin: 

The judge will appoint a guardian ad litem to do an independent investigation. It's supposed to be a neutral party in the community, typically an attorney or a layperson who's supervised by an attorney, to conduct the investigation and provide a recommendation about what's in the child's or family's best interest.

Molly Hendrickson: 

When is a guardian ad litem necessary? We're speaking with attorney Michelle Martin about that on today's Ask The Lawyer. Michelle, thanks for joining us.

Michelle Martin: 

Thank you for having me.

Molly Hendrickson: 

So let's start off with talking a little bit about the function of a guardian ad litem.

Michelle Martin: 

Right. So the function of a guardian ad litem is to protect the interest of a child in a proceeding concerning an alleged or adjudicated abuse, neglect, or dependency, or unruly charges. A guardian ad litem's function can also come into play when there are children who are within the state's child welfare system, and they don't necessarily have parent or guardian or a legal custodian.

Molly Hendrickson: 

So what types of cases do guardian ad litems usually get involved in and how do they come about into a case?

Michelle Martin: 

Right. So, a guardian ad litem is typically appointed by a court when a child has been either investigated and the investigation finds that there are substantiated allegations, sufficient enough to enter into a court proceeding. During those court proceedings, the judge will appoint a guardian ad litem to do an independent investigation supposed to be a neutral party in the community, typically an attorney or a layperson who's supervised by an attorney to conduct the investigation and provide a recommendation about what's in a child or family's best interest. I've seen these cases arrive a lot when a family has been accused of abuse, neglect, dependency, unruly behavior, delinquent minors. And they're also... These cases also arise, or the guardian ad litem's role arises when there are civil matters, such as a custody matter, or a domestic relations matter such as a divorce. There's also matters where a guardian ad litem can be useful in civil matters, where there are settlement funds that are going to be released to a minor in a wrongful death, or some other type of civil matter... Civil litigation.

Molly Hendrickson: 

So in those family law cases such as divorce or child custody, who does the guardian ad litem typically represent? Is it normally the child?

Michelle Martin: 

Right. So the guardian ad litem in those types... In those matters, they don't represent the child per se. And that's a great question. A lot of times people get it confused because they say, "Well, you're my child's attorney." Here in Franklin County, we actually have a court appointed attorney that can be appointed for a child, if the child and the guardian ad litem have a conflict of interest. And so conflicts of interest can arrive when the guardian who's been appointed by the court to make a recommendation about what's in a child's best interest, does not agree with what the child believes may be in their best interest as it relates to custody matters. And so a guardian ad litem is really just hired by the court or appointed by the court to investigate about what may be in a family or a child's best interest.

Molly Hendrickson: 

And what about in cases of child abuse or child neglect, do you also serve as a guardian ad litem and what is your role in those proceedings?

Michelle Martin: 

Yeah, so in those proceedings it really doesn't... The role is very similar in all of the court proceedings. The way in which you conduct your investigation can be somewhat different depending on the type of proceeding. And in an abuse or neglect matter, the investigation of course is gonna focus on the safety, welfare and any health hazards related to the family or the children, any situations that may present a risk of harm for the child or children in the family. You wanna focus on, of course, any of the substantiated allegations that were found in the complaint. You wanna focus on any type of school involvement, any... A lot of the families and the children they already are connected with the community resources. So you wanna make sure that they remain engaged and that they're utilizing and optimizing those opportunities to get as much community engagement and assistance as possible.

Molly Hendrickson: 

So we've spoken a lot about this in cases of children. What about a guardian ad litem in the case of an adult, and more specifically, can this arise in a personal injury case?

Michelle Martin: 

So I don't... I have not personally represented any adults for a guardian ad litem cases in a civil matter. The bulk of my practice focuses on those who are juveniles who have received funds related to a civil matter, and/or who have been harmed themselves in a personal injury matter. However, I have had an opportunity to see how folks who are either unable to participate on their own behalf because of some type of mental health issue that they're... They may be dealing with, whether it be a temporary issue, linked to the trauma involved in a civil matter or civil injury, or, whether it be more permanent or... A more permanent matter, where someone just may be... May not be able to make their own decisions. And they may have the help of a power of attorney who's at play. A guardian ad litem has been appointed in those matters by the court to help the court determine what to do with those funds, because what you may have is a guardian over the estate and a guardian over the person. And the person who has the guardianship, which is somewhat different than a guardian ad litem relationship, but the person that has the guardianship over the person, that's the person who served as a power of attorney who would help make decisions as to healthcare matters.

Michelle Martin: 

And then you have the power of... I'm sorry, the guardianship over the estate, and that's gonna be the person who's gonna report to the probate court, all of the financial matters and the day to day kind of operations of that person and their particular personal finance. So I have not had that experience. However, I know that they can be very helpful to the courts because it allows... It serves as an oversight function and provides what's in the best interest for that adult, who may be suffering from some type of vulnerability.

Molly Hendrickson: 

So their role might be slightly different from that in say a family law case?

Michelle Martin: 

Yes, yes.

Molly Hendrickson: 

Alright. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us.

Michelle Martin: 

Oh, absolutely. Thank you so much for again, inviting me to interview and answer the questions, the very good questions. And I appreciate this.

Molly Hendrickson: 

That's gonna do it for this episode of, Ask The Lawyers. My guest has been Michelle Martin. If you wanna ask her a question about your situation, you can call the number on the screen. Thanks for watching. I'm Molly Hendrickson for Ask The Lawyers.

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