Legal Question in Family Law in New York

Re: children's meetings with law guardians

No, the other parent should NOT be present when the Law Guardian is speaking with the child. Contact the Law Guardian and ask if he really was there. People often lie to the other party during litigation, in an effort to force settlement.

If he was there during the Law Guardian interview, bring it up with your attorney, and in court next time. There is no way the Law Guardian can get an unbiased view of the child if the other parent is there.

Re: children's meetings with law guardians

Do you have an attorney? If you do, you should have your attorney find out if your husband was present during the interview. Your spouse might be lying. If you do not have an attorney, send a letter to the law guardian yourself. The letter should be professional and to the point and not emotional or derogatory. Find out the facts first. If the law guardian did meet with the children with their father present, you are certainly correct to object to that method of interviewing the children. Also, the children are the law guardian's clients and they have a right to an attorney client confidentiality. That confidentiality may have been violated by the inclusion of the children's father in the interview. If you have an attorney, address this issue with your attorney. If you do not, the next time you are in court, request that the Judge direct that the children be interviewed alone or by the Judge without either party present. Tell the Judge that your spouse is bragging about influencing the meeting with the law guardian.

Re: children's meetings with law guardians

The other parent should not have been present.

If you confirm this really happened, consider asking the Judge to replace the Law Guardian.