Legal Question in Family Law in California
Hello,
I have a question. Currently, my nephew is in an ongoing Family Law matter concerning his children. My question is: Is it appropriate for one of the parents to obtain a Psycologist (expert) to testify at a hearing without the other parent being notified?
2 Answers from Attorneys
It is legal, but a good judge will either exclude the evidence or find that the expert who has talked only one party can give very little valuable input. I had the same situation occur earlier this year and the judge stated that the psychologist opinions had minimal value, this after the other party spent over $12,000 on the psychologist. The ruling of the judge went against the psychologist recommendation. Good Luck, Pat McCrary
If the proceeding is a modification of an existing order, and the parties have joint legal custody, it may be a contempt of the existing order. If this is the inital proceedings, however, I agree with Mr. McCrary that it is not illegal, just poor judgment that should be addressed and hopefully will backfire as it did in his case.