original post deleted.
I am sorry but I do not understand your first question. I’m not sure a school can “label” a child as anything- its not a diagnosis- and even a diagnosis is not a “legal document”. If you have a custody order or agreement already in place, you can take that to the school for their records and they will follow whatever form of custody is outlined.
Hi Crystalruss,
Thank you for your respond! It was a diagnosis for autism. The school doesn’t have any custody document in their records. I didn’t think it was going to cause such problem. They had just found out about the joint custody arrangement, when I questioned about that I wasn’t informed. The whole diagnosis went ahead as the school thought my ex has full custody. They didn’t check the school record. They told me that this diagnosis is a “legal document”. This concerns me a lot, my son now as high-functioning autism made it more complicated in our current custody fight. If all med. education and etc supposed to be agreed upon jointly in our current jointed custody, does it still make this diagnosis process valid? Thank you again!
I cannot say whether the diagnosis of autism which the school made would be legally valid or not. I have no idea what their process was in coming to that conclusion, and what if any, medical experts were consulted. I do think that it’s a good thing that the school now understands fully your custody arrangement. Hopefully you will be kept better informed in the future now.
Hi Crystalruss,
Thank you for respond. I am not sure why or how the school come to the conclusion that this doc is legal document… which is why I am here… The process was survey of teachers, psychologists and the dad… The only thing that I can think of… maybe because this doc was signed by 7 people (included the dad), which looks like an “contract” or “agreement” in the eligibility determination.
I think I will ask an re-evaluation after I inform them information were not provided. After all autism is determined by the child’s behaviors not DNA, which information of living environment, mom/dad separated, family history of ADD/ADHD and etc can possibly play into the part of my son’s behaviors.
Thanks again for your time!
You are welcome. Good luck to you!
Hi Crystal,
Thank you for your earlier reply.
If I may ask you some follow up questions… Sorry, I think this may be long, because I have bunch of questions…
Just a bit background info here.
The judge had just ruled Joint Legal Custody and Temporary physical custody to my ex.
The children has been living with the dad, while I was away for school…after I finished school, I was still only allowed to see my children every other weekend, which was two weeks blocks. This went on for another 10 months while this court case was on going…)
I am now granted 3-4 days with the children in the afternoons every week, but need to return them to his home before dinner. Also, I will still have my every other weekends.
His attorney is drafting the court order to be signed by the judge. (I went as Pro Se.)
In the draft, he has requested “guardian ad litem” within that court order. I am a bit concerned about this. The judge just granted this Temporary custody, and for me to have additional time with my kids. I think it will take some time for the kids to adjust to this new schedule. Also, I think that the school/teachers are already somewhat biased before this whole court process.
My questions are:
- The judge didn’t indicate the length of this Temporary physical custody and the new schedule. How long is this type of Temporary physical custody last?
- Does the judge have to grant his “guardian ad litem” request? or is there any way that I could make an objection to this?
He is asking me to pay half of the cost. My concerns are, 1. the cost (I don’t have money, which was the reason that I had to go as Pro Se. 2. the children will need time to adjust this new parenting arrangement. 3. I believe the school/some key teachers are already biased. (As I had mentioned about the school/teacher didn’t informed me about the autism diagnosed process. I had went to the school and addressed this issue with the school/teachers this whole year, and there was some difficulty/conflicts. Also, apparently my son’s teacher had written a letter for my ex, and it was used in our court hearing. I fear that when “guardian ad litem” interviewing the teachers, there would be biased opinions.) - Is there anything I can do about the above?
- If there is not a way to object this “guardian ad litem” request, when does the guardian ad litem process usually begin?
- In addition, may I ask the court to give at least 3-4 months or sort before this “guardian ad litem” begin? I would like to give the kids the chance to adjust to this schedule before this whole process…
- How long is the “guardian ad litem” process takes?
Thank you!
momwithkids
If your ex is playing games with this whole situation, having a Guardian-Ad-Litem is not necessarily a bad thing, as they are appointed on behalf of the child and to represent the child’s interests. That means that if the judge feels there is not enough information to make their decision about custody, than they can order a guardian ad litem to do an investigation and report back to the Court with their findings and usually reccommendations. Ultimately, it is the Judge’s decision.
If you want to have this person removed, though, you can make a motion before the court that you object to the appointment and that you move for the person to be removed as Guardian.
If there’s a temporary custody order, then that will be binding until such time as a full hearing on permanent custody can be had. This usually takes several months. I have seen cases where the custody arrangement was different in a permanent order, and actually this happens often. Judges will evaluate a multitude of factor to determine what is in the children’s best interests.
Also, you should think about making a motion for a child custody evaluation, which although it is costly, will have everyone (including yourself) evaluated by mental health professionals.
I hope to have been responsive, however, remember my response is based on limited information. I recommend that you seek a consultation with an attorney to give you specific advice about your situation. Good luck.
If your ex is playing games with this whole situation, having a Guardian-Ad-Litem is not necessarily a bad thing, as they are appointed on behalf of the child and to represent the child’s interests. That means that if the judge feels there is not enough information to make their decision about custody, than they can order a guardian ad litem to do an investigation and report back to the Court with their findings and usually reccommendations. Ultimately, it is the Judge’s decision.
If you want to have this person removed, though, you can make a motion before the court that you object to the appointment and that you move for the person to be removed as Guardian.
If there’s a temporary custody order, then that will be binding until such time as a full hearing on permanent custody can be had. This usually takes several months. I have seen cases where the custody arrangement was different in a permanent order, and actually this happens often. Judges will evaluate a multitude of factor to determine what is in the children’s best interests.
Also, you should think about making a motion for a child custody evaluation, which although it is costly, will have everyone (including yourself) evaluated by mental health professionals.
I hope to have been responsive, however, remember my response is based on limited information. I recommend that you seek a consultation with an attorney to give you specific advice about your situation. Good luck.