A Custody Evaluation is an investigation by a trained medical professional, usually a psychologist, in which the professional ultimately renders an opinion to the court as to what the best child custody arrangement would be for the child(ren).

The parties to a custody case can agree that a custody evaluation will be performed, and they can agree on who will do it and how it will be paid for.  That rarely happens, though, as people who are in a custody dispute rarely get along and agree about anything.

The more common scenario is that one party or the other will file a Motion and ask the judge to order a custody evaluation.  Most judges will order that a custody evaluation will be performed and will spell out the details of who will do the evaluation and who will pay for it in the Order.

There are several important questions to consider before pursuing a custody evaluation.

First, do you understand what it is?  A custody evaluation means different things to different professionals.  It’s not a “one size fits all” thing.  The basic idea is that a professional, usually a psychologist, will interview the parents, the child(ren) and others, will look at various documents such as school records, medical records, etc. and will synthesize all of the interviews and document information into a report that is intended to be used to by a judge to help decide what is best for the kids.  As with any professional service, you need to find out some specifics before hiring the custody evaluator, such as who and how many will be interviewed, how much time the evaluator will spend on the case and how much the evaluation will cost.

Second, do you need one?  A custody evaluation, in my opinion, is the best way to “level the playing field” in a child custody case.   The fact is that mothers are far more likely to be granted primary physical custody than fathers.  It’s not really even close.  Everyone knows it, and I’ll save further comment on that issue or another article.  The reason the bias against fathers exists is not really as important for purposes of this article as the fact that it does exist.  Because statistically dads are far more likely to lose in court, dads are typically the ones who stand to benefit the most from a custody evaluation, as it offers a supposedly neutral professional opinion to the judge that is often very helpful to give the judge the “big picture” in a custody case.  The way custody litigation typically works is that mom testifies in her own favor, and her witnesses, most of whom are biased family and friends, tell the same story.  Then dad testifies in his favor, and his witnesses, most of whom are biased family and friends, tell the same story.   In the end, judges are usually left with two totally different stories from witnesses that are not very reliable because of their bias, and usually they just award custody to mom.  That’s just the way it is.   The legal reason, most of the time, is the “status quo.”  That means that the judge looks very carefully at where the kids have been living in the months leading up the trial, and usually in the Findings of Fact in a custody order, you will read something about the “status quo.”  I personally think that status quo is the number one factor in a custody case.  The fairness of that is another matter, and again, is the subject for another article.  The point is that, generally, I think custody evaluations are potentially far more helpful for fathers than for mothers because a custody evaluation is perhaps the only way to overcome an unfavorable status quo, and you should think about that and decide for yourself if hiring someone to evaluate your custody situation is a good idea.   It probably is a good idea unless you are OK with the “every other weekend, half the holidays and some of the summer” typical custody schedule that most dads get.

Third, how much do you have to spend?  Custody evaluations are like new cars, in the sense that you can order whatever features you want if you have the money.   If you choose, you can probably find an evaluator to do a “basic” evaluation where he or she interviews you and the child(ren)’s other parent, the child(ren) and maybe one or two other sources and maybe review a few documents for a ballpark fee of about $2000-$4000.  If you want the evaluator to interview you, the other parent and the children multiple times, and if you want to use  multiple collateral sources, such as teachers, doctors, ministers, and friends dating back many years, and if you want the evaluator to sort through extensive medical and school records, you can count on spending more than that.  A more extensive custody evaluation can easily approach the $7,000 to $10,000 range depending on the skill and experience of the evaluator and how much information you want the evaluator to consider.

Fourth, who is going to be your evaluator?  This question is probably the most important question in your entire case if you decide to use a custody evaluator.   It’s also not as simple as it seems.  Remember that if a judge orders the custody evaluation, you and the other parent or going to have to agree on the evaluator or the judge will pick one.   This is no easy negotiation for the attorneys, as both attorneys are fully aware that much is at stake in the selection of the evaluator.   In making the decision, I suggest that the best way to handle the selection process is to seek the advice of those who have used certain evaluators in your geographic area.   While there are likely many competent and unbiased evaluators available, there will undoubtedly be some with a bias of some sort.  Some will be “pro-mom” perhaps, or it may be that some are “pro-dad.”  You may be able to find that out from talking to people who have had experience with certain evaluators, or you may have to interview the evaluators yourself.  If you do, there are some basic questions you need to ask.   How many of these evaluations have you performed?  What is your opinion of the “home-base,” weekend visitation model?   Out of the evaluations you have performed, how many times have you recommended that mom should have primary custody?  How many times have you recommended that dad have primary custody?  How many times have you recommended a true joint custody arrangement where each parent has the child(ren) 50% of the time?  What is your background in dealing with children who are the ages of my kids?  If you feel that your spouse is trying to turn your kids against you, you might also want to ask the potential evaluator what his or her professional opinion is about Parental Alienation Syndrome and whether the evaluator has ever found that PAS exists in his/her reports.  This is only a list of some basic questions, but the answers will likely tell you whether you feel comfortable with the evaluator.  Remember, the custody evaluator’s testimony is likely to be the most important testimony of the trial, so it’s an important decision.

A good, unbiased, professional custody evaluation is a very valuable tool in custody litigation.  A custody evaluation is an investment, and the decisions about whether to utilize a custody evaluator and who you choose to conduct the evaluation will be critical in the outcome of your child custody case.  Making good choices can drastically increase your chances of obtaining what you want, and making poor choices can doom your case.