The rest of what we have written about New York. Every figure is quoted from New York’s own statute or its courts’ own published schedule, and carries the date we last checked it.
Guardians ad litem and child representation in New York: who they are, what they owe your child, and who pays
If custody is contested in New York, the court can appoint someone to look into your family and report to the judge. This page is what New York’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.
See a different stateNew York
Everything below is traced to New York’s own statute or court rule, quoted where the wording matters. The statutes on this page were read against the Legislature’s own database at public.leginfo.state.ny.us on 1 November 2026; where the state’s own site blocks automated access, as the Unified Court System’s does, we quote a secondary publisher and name it. 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 — The role is defined by statute and rule as an 'attorney for the child' appointed under Family Court Act § 249, i.e., a licensed attorney, not a lay guardian ad litem.
- Who pays
- Custody evaluations — New York governs court-ordered custody evaluations and investigations separately from the appointment of a guardian ad litem.
- The thing worth knowing about New York
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 — The role is defined by statute and rule as an 'attorney for the child' appointed under Family Court Act § 249, i.e., a licensed attorney, not a lay guardian ad litem.
- Who pays
- Custody evaluations — New York governs court-ordered custody evaluations and investigations separately from the appointment of a guardian ad litem.
- The thing worth knowing about New York
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
In any other proceeding in which the court has jurisdiction, the court may appoint an attorney to represent the child, when, in the opinion of the family court judge, such representation will serve the purposes of this act, if independent legal counsel is not available to the child
Source: N.Y. Family Court Act § 249(a) · read it on FindLaw — a commercial publisher, not the state’s own site
What duty they owe your child
client-directed (wishes), with a narrow substituted-judgment exception – governed by 22 NYCRR § 7.2, ‘Function of the Attorney for the Child’
§ 7.2(d): “In other types of proceedings, where the child is the subject, the attorney for the child must zealously advocate the child’s position.” § 7.2(d)(2): “If the child is capable of knowing, voluntary and considered judgment, the attorney for the child should be directed by the wishes of the child, even if the attorney for the child believes that what the child wants is not in the child’s best interests.” Subdivision (d)(1), which sits between the two and requires the attorney to consult with and advise the child and to have a thorough knowledge of the child’s circumstances, is omitted here. This page previously ran the two passages together as a single sentence joined by an ellipsis, and opened it with “where” in place of the rule’s “If.”
Source: 22 NYCRR § 7.2, “Function of the attorney for the child” — the court rule promulgated under Family Court Act § 249-b, not Family Court Act § 249(a), which governs appointment only and carries no duty language · read it on Cornell LII — a secondary publisher, not the state’s own site. The Unified Court System’s own site blocks automated access, so this rule text was read on Cornell LII on 1 November 2026 and we have not confirmed it against the latest amending order.
Who can be appointed
The role is defined by statute and rule as an ‘attorney for the child’ appointed under Family Court Act § 249, i.e., a licensed attorney, not a lay guardian ad litem.
Who pays
Whenever the supreme court or a surrogate’s court shall appoint counsel in a proceeding over which the family court might have exercised jurisdiction had such action or proceeding been commenced in family court or referred thereto pursuant to law, and under circumstances whereby, if such proceeding were pending in family court, such court would be authorized by section two hundred forty-nine of the family court act to appoint an attorney for the child, such counsel shall be compensated in accordance with the provisions of this section.
Source: N.Y. Judiciary Law § 35(7), the attorney-for-the-child provision. This page previously quoted § 35(8), which keys to Family Court Act § 262 and covers assigned counsel for an indigent adult party, not the child’s attorney · read it on Public.Law — a secondary publisher, not the state’s own site. Text verified against the Legislature’s own database at public.leginfo.state.ny.us, current through 2026 Chapters 1–369, read 1 November 2026.
Attorneys for the child appointed under Family Court Act § 249 / Judiciary Law § 35(7) are compensated by the state (through the Appellate Division’s Attorney for the Child program), not billed directly to the parties, when independent counsel is not otherwise available to the child.
$158 per hour, in court and out, under Judiciary Law § 35(3) as imported by Family Court Act § 245(c). County Law Article 18-B carries the same $158 for a party’s own assigned counsel — the Office of Indigent Legal Services records that increase as effective 1 April 2023, up from $75 in Family Court matters — but 18-B is the county-paid route under County Law § 722-e and is not the authority for the child’s attorney. Statute text read 1 November 2026; we have not separately confirmed the effective date of the § 35(3) increase.
Custody evaluations
New York 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: N.Y. Family Court Act § 251, “Medical examinations,” which authorises a court-ordered examination by a physician, psychiatrist or psychologist. It does not address an evaluator’s role as a witness, or the weight a judge must give a recommendation · read it on FindLaw — 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 New York
New York uniquely titles the role ‘attorney for the child’ (formerly ‘law guardian’) and, under 22 NYCRR § 7.2, makes it an ordinary client-directed attorney-client relationship rather than a best-interests advocate: the attorney must follow the child’s expressed wishes even if the attorney disagrees, departing only where the child lacks capacity or following the child’s wishes would place the child at substantial risk of imminent, serious harm.
Other states
Related
- Guardians ad litem, child’s attorneys and custody evaluators — the four roles, the science, and what to ask
- New York child custody — how custody is decided here
- Getting your finances in order — including who pays the lawyers
- Co-parenting — after the order is made