One man hasn't seen his two children in six months because his abusive ex-wife and her family conspired to label him an unfit parent. His wife says that the man is mentally ill and incapable of even getting the kids off to school. Outside the courtroom a woman waits for her case to be called, trying to look brave in her navy-blue business suit, but trembling inside as she wonders how to fight for her three kids against her husband and the expensive lawyer he's hired. The father, if asked, would say that he has no alternative but to seek full custody since his ex is still smoking dope day and night and leaving the kids in filthy clothes. These parents' stories were slightly altered to preserve anonymity, but stories like theirs are presented to judges nearly every day in Humboldt County.
Some parents welcome the guardian ad litem's intervention and find it helpful.
Some resent it bitterly, saying the guardian believed the wrong stories and made recommendations that were bad for the children. Last fall some of the most frustrated and desperate of these parents called me. The use of GALs in custody disputes has been adopted in many states and counties. The center was established to represent children and teens in what are called juvenile dependency cases, where the government has taken custody of a child because of possible abuse in the home. With modern divorce laws presenting fewer reasons to fight over who is at fault or how property is divided, many parents choose to argue over the kids.