Your child may be deemed old enough and mature enough to articulate their reasonable preferences for a custody arrangement. However, at the end of the day, they are still a child, and speaking openly and publicly in a courtroom may understandably be intimidating. To avoid such unnecessary emotional stress, a New Jersey Family Court judge typically has a child share their preferences in an alternative format. Without further ado, please continue reading to learn the different methods for a child to testify and how an experienced Morristown child custody lawyer at Graves Andrews, LLC, can serve as their legal advocate throughout.
What are alternative methods for a child to testify in a custody case?
In short, alternative methods for testifying relieve a child of anxieties that may come with public speaking and undue guilt in having to state their true opinions in front of their parents. Without further ado, the New Jersey Family Court may speak with a child in any of these varying formats:
- An in-camera interview: here, a child may speak privately with a judge in chambers without the parents present, only sometimes involving lawyers or lawyer-submitted questions.
- An attorney for the child (AFC): here, a court-appointed attorney may represent the child and their expressed preferences throughout the custody case proceedings.
- A guardian ad litem (GAL): here, a court-appointed lawyer may interview a child and represent their best interests to the judge, which may or may not align with their expressed personal wishes.
- A mental health professional: here, a psychologist, psychiatrist, or other qualified expert may meet with and observe the child and provide the judge with a written report of their findings and recommendations.
- A school representative: here, a teacher, counselor, or other qualified professional who regularly interacts with the child may testify and share their insight on the child’s emotional well-being, home-life stability, etc.
What happens if a parent is influencing a child’s custody preference?
To reiterate, all these aforementioned alternative methods of receiving a child’s preference on custody are supposed to sidestep the undue influence either parent may place on them. So, if the New Jersey Family Court judge finds that a parent still somehow manipulated their child into sharing a preference that is not their truth, there may be serious consequences.
First of all, the judge may place little to no significance on your child’s expressed preferences, even if they were being genuine about certain parts. Secondly, this may diminish a parent’s credibility and parental fitness in the judge’s eyes, which may subsequently minimize their custodial rights and parenting time.
Lastly, if the situation is drastic enough where the judge believes alienation is at play, they may order them to mandatory counseling or family therapy sessions before even considering them for a custody or visitation schedule. And if domestic violence is unearthed, this may lead to criminal consequences administered by the New Jersey Criminal Court.
At Graves Andrews, LLC, we treat every case with kid gloves, and you will notice this upon your initial phone call. So please do not hesitate to allow a skilled Morris County divorce lawyer to represent you in your upcoming case.