Ideally when the parents of minor children are divorced in Virginia, they are able to come to a parenting agreement that is both in the best interests of their children and acceptable to the parents. However, experience has shown that this is not always the case. Parents are frequently unable to find the middle ground and must turn to the Virginia courts. The courts take a number of factors into consideration when trying to determine custody, with the priority being the best interest of the child.
Oftentimes, one of the litigants will request the Judge to appoint a child custody evaluator to assist with the determination. However, there are a few issues that parents need to consider before instructing their divorce lawyers to ask for a court-appointed child custody evaluator.
Because the child custody evaluator is acting as an agent of the courts (as opposed to the parents), the presumption is that the court will put a lot of faith in the expert custody evaluators opinion. Moreover, the evaluator has a tremendous amount of discretion in how he conducts his review. Naturally, if the report winds up favoring one party over the other, it’s very advantageous to that parent. But that also means that the evaluator’s report could potentially damage an otherwise sound argument for being awarded custody.
Sometimes, one or both parents will employ the services of a private, non-appointed evaluator in order to rebut the opinions and conclusions of the court appointed expert. In many of these cases, one party will hire a private evaluator, and then the other party will do the same to counter the first party’s child custody expert. If there’s a conflict between the opinions of the two private evaluators, a court might appoint their own third evaluator to make a final determination. This can also occur when one party requests a court-appointed evaluator in response to the other’s hiring of a private evaluator. Since the court generally favors the opinion of its own evaluator, the importance of the private evaluator can be minimized. Again this could either be a benefit or a detriment, depending on which side of the equation one lands on.
No one wants to put a price tag on something as important as a child custody dispute. However, child custody evaluators are usually doctors of Psychology and command impressive fees. Fees can range from $10,000 to $20,000 and upwards. In the majority of cases, the parties are court ordered to split the cost of the evaluation or if one party makes significantly more money, the court may apportion the fees in proportion to the parties’ incomes. This may be a consideration, particularly if the evaluator’s opinion is expected to do little to support the requesting parties case.
Not all custody battles warrant the hiring of an evaluator. The wrong decision could strengthen a weak case or destroy a solid one. Requesting the Virginia courts to appoint a child custody evaluator is a tactic that should always be discussed with a qualified divorce attorney.
Virginia Divorce and Family Law Attorney Claudia Zucker
Do you need a divorce attorney? Do you have questions about court-appointed child custody evaluators? We invite you to contact us today at (703) 596-1005. We're always just a phone call away.
