Custody Evaluation

Custody Evaluations

Custody evaluations may be needed when the parents cannot agree on what parenting arrangements are in the best interests of the children.

Generally, there are two routes by which a custody evaluation can be obtained.

One route is where both parents hire different experts who make recommendations to the Court. Often each expert makes recommendations based on their advocacy for the parent who hired them.

The other route is where the parents agree on one neutral expert who will make recommendations regarding what parenting arrangements are best for the children. A neutral expert is expected to make recommendations that emphasize what is best for the children without advocating for either parent.

Custody evaluations are performed by either a private evaluator or by the evaluators hired by the County in which the case is filed. County evaluators generally work through the Department of Court Services. Private evaluations are expensive. In the metro area, a neutral evaluation will typically cost between $10,000-$15,000 without testimony. Evaluations performed by the Department of Court Services are generally performed for free or for a minimal fee.

The difference between a private evaluation and an evaluation performed by court services is not only cost. A private evaluator is expected to do a more detailed and thorough process of evaluation. It is expected that they will spend more time with the parents, children and perhaps with collateral witnesses such as teachers, daycare providers and counselors for the parents and children. They will typically perform psychological evaluations on the parents and often will do some formal assessment of the children. All of this extra work is what makes their service expensive.

An evaluator at the Department of Court Services is not generally able to spend the same amount of time on a custody evaluation as does the private evaluator. It is not possible given their caseloads. They generally do not perform psychological testing as part of an assessment of the parents and children. Notwithstanding, these experts often have the same highly developed intuitive ability as the private evaluators in knowing which facts of each case are the most important ones. A Court Services evaluator may reach the same conclusion as a private evaluator on the straight-forward cases. It is on the more complex cases that the private evaluator may provide a more in-depth look at the 13 factors for determining custody simply because they have more resources available to them.