In the absence of statutory or administrative governance of the custody evaluation process, individual orders appointing forensic evaluators to assess the parenting abilities of the competing parties are of paramount importance. They should be constructed in a thoughtful manner that protects the interests of the parties and their children and also ensures the integrity of the adjudicative process. As a recent article authored by two prominent forensic evaluators and a California Superior Court Judge makes clear, general, unspecific appointment orders “leave both evaluators and lawyers at a loss regarding how to proceed” and poorly serve not only the litigants but the justice system itself.1
The investigatory stage of the evaluation, during which the evaluator gathers the data which will form the basis for the conclusions to be put before the court, is a crucial aspect of the process. Because the information put before the evaluator forms the basis for the evaluator’s conclusions, it is crucial that the process by which that information is acquired be as orderly as possible to maximize the likelihood that the data obtained will be balanced and accurate. A well-constructed appointment order that controls the data flow can go a long way toward achieving this goal.2
Mandating Cooperation
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