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- Title
MORGAN V. GETTER AND THE GUARDIAN AD LITEM'S EVOLVING ROLE IN KENTUCKY CHILD CUSTODY DISPUTES.
- Authors
Sullivan, Brenden J.
- Abstract
The multi-faceted roles of Guardians ad Litem in Kentucky child custody disputes was considered by the Kentucky Supreme Court in Morgan v. Getter, which held that, rather than being entirely client-driven attorneys or investigative instruments of the court, Guardians ad Litem are appointed to serve as best interest attorneys for their child clients in contested child custody proceedings. Despite the Court's attempt to clarify the role of Guardians ad Litem in child custody proceedings, Morgan v. Getter did not provide trial courts with readily distinguishable functions to be served by Guardians ad Litem, Friends of the Court, and court-appointed investigators respectively. Kentucky would benefit from well-articulated guidelines that clearly state the roles of Guardians ad Litem, Friends of the Court, and de facto Friends of the Court so that the separate, yet often overlapping, duties that each appointee serves are apparent to the courts, practitioners, and parties involved in child custody proceedings, rather than family courts trying to define the scope of appointee involvement on a case- by-case basis. This article will examine Kentucky case law, statutes, rules, and regulations to show that, while Morgan v. Getter has helped to protect the privacy interests of child clients by holding that Guardians ad Litem are ethically immune to cross-examination, it subsequently did not inform lower courts on how to delineate between the duties of attorneys for children and those of court- appointed evaluators in proceedings already underway. A survey of family law in other jurisdictions that similarly define Guardians ad Litem and Friends of the Court shows how Kentucky courts may distinguish each agent to consistently implement the Getter holding.
- Subjects
KENTUCKY; CUSTODY of children; CHILDREN'S rights; DOMESTIC relations; KENTUCKY. Supreme Court; JURISDICTION
- Publication
Northern Kentucky Law Review, 2016, Vol 43, Issue 2, p279
- ISSN
0198-8549
- Publication type
Article