Also known as: childs attorney · child's attorneys · attorney for the child · child's lawyer
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An attorney appointed by a court to represent the interests of a minor or dependent child in matters of support, custody, and visitation. The court must enter an order directing payment of the attorney's costs, fees, and disbursements against either or both parents, or against an appropriate public agency if the responsible parent is indigent.
Charlotte Chung and Cameron Cruz separated and now litigate custody and support for their five-year-old daughter. The court finds that the child's emotional needs arising from parental conflict require independent advocacy. It appoints a child's attorney to investigate and present the daughter's interests and orders both parents to pay the attorney's fees in proportion to their incomes.
After a foster placement review, the agency seeks to move a child from the current home. The court appoints a child's attorney to represent the child's position at the hearing. The attorney consults with the child and presents evidence on stability and support needs, with fees ordered against the responsible agency because the parents are indigent.
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A court may appoint an attorney to represent a minor child's interests whenever support, custody, or visitation issues are before it. Appointment is discretionary and turns on whether the child's welfare requires an independent advocate separate from either parent.
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The court must order payment of the attorney's costs and fees against either or both parents. If the responsible parent is indigent, the appropriate public agency bears the expense instead.
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The child's attorney represents the child exclusively and does not represent either parent. The attorney's duty is to advocate for arrangements that serve the child's welfare, even when that position diverges from a parent's litigation strategy.
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No. The court possesses independent authority to appoint counsel for the child and need not obtain parental consent. Conditioning appointment on agreement would undermine the statute's protective purpose.
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…upon the parent or other person having custody of the child, the authorized agency, the foster parent, the law guardian, the attorney for the child and such other persons as the court determines should receive notice. . . . . . . . "7. At the conclusion of the hearing, the court may make any one of the following orders: "(a) enter an…