The rest of what we have written about Michigan. Every figure is quoted from Michigan’s own statute or its courts’ own published schedule, and carries the date we last checked it.
Guardians ad litem and child representation in Michigan: who they are, what they owe your child, and who pays
If custody is contested in Michigan, the court can appoint someone to look into your family and report to the judge. This page is what Michigan’s own statutes and court rules say about who that person is, what duty they owe, and — the part almost nobody asks in time — who pays for them.
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Everything below is traced to Michigan’s own statute or court rule, quoted where the wording matters. Where we could not verify something from a primary source, the page says so in plain terms rather than filling the space. This is information, not legal advice. Corrections go up at thecusp.app/corrections.
The short version7 points · tap one to jump to it
- What the role is called here — A guardian ad litem generally argues for what they judge is best for your child and is not your child’s lawyer.
- How an appointment happens
- What duty they owe your child
- Who can be appointed — A 'lawyer-guardian ad litem' is statutorily defined as an attorney appointed under the Probate Code; MCL 712A.13a defines it as 'An attorney appointed under section 17c of this chapter,' and MCL 722.24 in the Child Custody Act imports that same role for private custody disputes.
- Who pays — MCL 722.24(4) requires a court 'determination of ability to pay' before assessing LGAL costs against a party, and allows costs instead to be charged against money allocated from marriage-license fees earmarked for family counseling services (MCL 551.103) when a party cannot pay.
- Custody evaluations — Michigan governs court-ordered custody evaluations and investigations separately from the appointment of a guardian ad litem.
- The thing worth knowing about Michigan
In this subject 9
What the role is called here
The short version7 points · tap one to jump to it
- What the role is called here — A guardian ad litem generally argues for what they judge is best for your child and is not your child’s lawyer.
- How an appointment happens
- What duty they owe your child
- Who can be appointed — A 'lawyer-guardian ad litem' is statutorily defined as an attorney appointed under the Probate Code; MCL 712A.13a defines it as 'An attorney appointed under section 17c of this chapter,' and MCL 722.24 in the Child Custody Act imports that same role for private custody disputes.
- Who pays — MCL 722.24(4) requires a court 'determination of ability to pay' before assessing LGAL costs against a party, and allows costs instead to be charged against money allocated from marriage-license fees earmarked for family counseling services (MCL 551.103) when a party cannot pay.
- Custody evaluations — Michigan governs court-ordered custody evaluations and investigations separately from the appointment of a guardian ad litem.
- The thing worth knowing about Michigan
In this subject 9
Names matter more than they look. A guardian ad litem generally argues for what they judge is best for your child and is not your child’s lawyer. An attorney for the child argues for what your child actually wants. Those are opposite duties. The four roles, explained in full.
How an appointment happens
the court may appoint a lawyer-guardian ad litem to represent the child
Source: Mich. Comp. Laws § 722.24(2) (Child Custody Act of 1970) · source
What duty they owe your child
best interests, with mandatory reporting of the child’s wishes
To make a determination regarding the child’s best interests and advocate for those best interests according to the lawyer-guardian ad litem’s understanding of those best interests, regardless of whether the lawyer-guardian ad litem’s determination reflects the child’s wishes.
Source: Mich. Comp. Laws § 712A.17d(1)(i), which MCL 712A.13a(1)(g)(ii) applies to a lawyer-guardian ad litem appointed under MCL 722.24 in a custody case · complete statutory text, reproduced by Michigan’s State Court Administrative Office — read 26 October 2026, because legislature.mi.gov returned HTTP 503 on every path that day
Who can be appointed
A ‘lawyer-guardian ad litem’ is statutorily defined as an attorney appointed under the Probate Code; MCL 712A.13a defines it as ‘An attorney appointed under section 17c of this chapter,’ and MCL 722.24 in the Child Custody Act imports that same role for private custody disputes.
Who pays
After a determination of ability to pay, the court may assess all or part of the costs and reasonable fees of the lawyer-guardian ad litem against 1 or more of the parties involved in the proceedings or against the money allocated from marriage license fees
Source: Mich. Comp. Laws § 722.24(4) · source
MCL 722.24(4) requires a court ‘determination of ability to pay’ before assessing LGAL costs against a party, and allows costs instead to be charged against money allocated from marriage-license fees earmarked for family counseling services (MCL 551.103) when a party cannot pay.
We looked for an official Michigan fee schedule for privately appointed guardians ad litem and custody evaluators, and did not find one. That is true of most states — only a handful publish figures at all, among them Arkansas, Massachusetts and Minnesota, and those are subsidized program rates rather than market ones.
The numbers circulating online come from law-firm marketing pages. We will not repeat those as though they were sourced. Call your county family court clerk and ask what appointees there actually charge. It is local, current, and free.
Custody evaluations
Michigan governs court-ordered custody evaluations and investigations separately from the appointment of a guardian ad litem. An evaluator is a witness, not an advocate — and their recommendation is a recommendation, not a ruling a judge is bound by.
Source: Mich. Comp. Laws § 722.27(1)(c) · read it on Justia — a commercial publisher, not the state’s own site
Before an evaluation begins, it is worth asking which psychological instruments will be used. The peer-reviewed literature is openly critical of several still in circulation — one has interrater reliability reported as ranging from 50% to 100%. The evidence, in full.
The thing worth knowing about Michigan
Michigan’s lawyer-guardian ad litem statute expressly resolves the wishes-vs-best-interests tension that many states leave ambiguous: MCL 712A.17d directs the LGAL to advocate the child’s best interests ‘regardless of whether the lawyer-guardian ad litem’s determination reflects the child’s wishes,’ while still requiring the LGAL to weigh the child’s wishes by competence/maturity and independently report those wishes and preferences to the court — effectively splitting the wishes-communication function from the best-interests-advocacy function within the same appointed attorney.
Other states
Related
- Guardians ad litem, child’s attorneys and custody evaluators — the four roles, the science, and what to ask
- Michigan child custody — how custody is decided here
- Getting your finances in order — including who pays the lawyers
- Co-parenting — after the order is made