Guardian Ad Litem questions

[bjrohan]

Last week a Guardian Ad Litem was appointed for our son's custody case. (see other psoting for me on complete details of case) The guardian is on vacation, and I am his first appointment when he gets back.   As far as I know my ex has not talked to him yet.  The first appointment is at his office without our son.  Are there any tips that I could use in order to help things go my way?  What kinds of things will he be looking for.  I already plan on only accenuating my positives until he asks me specifically for my ex's negatives.  My lawyer has recommended that I give the guardian my diary that I have been keeping, and a letter from daycare that states how much more I have done for my son than my ex, including the fact that she neglected to give our son his medicine when he needed it.

Any advice would me greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Brian

[Peanutsdad]

Bring any and all documentation you have to the GAL. Make them aware of your concerns withOUT putting the other parent down.


Tips For Getting Started
http://www.deltabravo.net/news/10-19-2000.htm

How To Hire An Attorney
http://www.deltabravo.net/custody/hiring.htm

Hiring An Effective Attorney
http://www.deltabravo.net/custody/effective.htm

Success Factors In Obtaining Custody
http://www.deltabravo.net/custody/tips.htm

URL: http://www.deltabravo.net/custody/guide.htm


http://www.deltabravo.net/custody/pplan3.htm

One of the first things you'll hear around here is "Document, document, document!". Having good records is *crucial*. Get yourself either the Parenting Time Tracker (PTT) at: http://www.deltabravo.net/custody/tracker.htm or the OPTIMAL Custody Tracking service at: http://www.parentingtime.net. The PTT is good, but the OPTIMAL service is definitely better.

[Lawmoe]

Brian:

I posted a long article in the thread above which includes a good deal of information about what to expect in a custody evaluation and how to interact with the Guardian Ad Litem.  If you cannot find it, let me know and I will repost.

For Minnesota Family Law Answers visit http://www.divorceprofessionals.com

[DeeDee]

I just have one thing to add.  You may want to get a short doctor's note regarding what the consequences of missed medication doses are.

For example:
1. if it was asthma medication it could be life threatening.

2.  Abrupt stops in Behavior/mood stabilizing medication can have effects ranging from suicidal behavior to major withdrawal symptoms(shaking/tremors/nausea/diareha etc.)

3. missed antibiotic dosage can render certain antibiotics useless in the future and if antibiotic is used for something like an ear infection it can lead to permanent damage/scaring of the eardrum etc. Not to mention may have to start a new regimen of antibiotics.

Even the printout from the pharmacist may help with this and may be enough for the GAL.

This is child neglect, but do not mention that to the GAL just state your concern for your child and why.

hope this helps

[maxwell]

Regarding the medicine.
BM did the same to my son in my case. She failed to administer the antibiotics for an ear infection (for an infant) that I gave her after taking him to the Doc. (She did this for 2 consecutive prescriptions not believing that he had an ear infection.)  She got questioned about it by the Judge when we brought it up during a temp hearing.  (She claimed he reacted to it but failed to bring him in to get a different prescription.) What I also did was save the bottles of medicine and talk to the Pharmacist and Doctor (and showed them the bottles with the remaining amount). They assured me the medicine should have been gone. I then showed them to the GAL and gave him the Docs name in case he wanted to verify.