A custody evaluation is an extremely important part of a divorce case involving children. Without a custody evaluation, the part of the trial involving custody could spiral into a he-said, she-said situation in which everyone—especially the children—suffer. While this may be titled differently in each state, it still serves the same purpose of providing the court with unbiased information to make the right decisions about custody and parent time. In this episode, we’ll talk more about the purpose of custody evaluations, what is included, when they are needed, and who conducts them. 

A custody evaluation is designed to provide the court with important information about you, the other parent, and your children so that the court can make a decision about what is in your child’s best interest. These are needed for very high-conflict divorces where both parties cannot come to an agreement for what is best in custody and parent time for your children. Custody evaluations are also helpful when dealing with abuse or personality disorders. 

Custody evaluators are professionals who have training in child development and who are licensed by the state as either: social workers, psychologists, clinical mental health counselors, or marriage and family therapists. Once the court orders an evaluation and the fees are paid by both parties, custody evaluators will observe, record, interview, visit the home/school, and possibly administer psychological testing. The evaluator will then report their own conclusions and recommendations to the court.