I decided to train to be a GAL

[4honor]

State is WA.

I barely meet the 5 year of training/experience (17 years of hit and miss) requirement for non-attorney GAL applicants. Specific training is in October in a town across the state.


1) If you could assist in "the making of a fair GAL" what would you like to tell me?

2) anything I should avoid?

[socrateaser]

>1) If you could assist in "the making of a fair GAL" what
>would you like to tell me?

A guardian ad litem has a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of his/her ward (i.e., the child), during the pendency of the legal action. In practice, this means that the interests of the other parties to the suit are irrelevant, except at necessary to advance the child's best interests.

So, the imposed legal duty does not permit a GAL to be "fair." If you want to be "fair," my advice is to not become a GAL. LOL!

Regardless, I think it's great that you want to try to obtain this certification, but, the best that I can offer as advice is to not get caught up in the false but widely held belief, that you or anyone else can predict the future. That is, it's one thing to determine the child's best interests based upon the facts existing at the time that the determination is made, and quite another to attempt to extrapolate the child's best interests into the future based upon those same facts. The former task is relatively easy -- but the latter is quite impossible for any mere mortal. No one can predict the future.

So, if I were acting as a GAL in a particular case, I would put blinders on as to what I might believe would be the future effect of my recommendations, and instead, concentrate on what my recommendations do for the child "now." I believe that someone who does this will come up with a very different recommendation from someone who believes that they can fairly predict the future course of a person or person's life.

>
>2) anything I should avoid?

Yes, avoid the wet spots.