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. 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.
What the role is called here
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) · source
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’
the attorney for the child must zealously advocate the child’s position… where 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
Source: N.Y. Family Court Act § 249(a) · source
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
supreme court shall also appoint counsel and such counsel shall be compensated in accordance with the provisions of this section
Source: N.Y. Judiciary Law § 35(8) · source
Attorneys for the child appointed under Family Court Act § 249 / Judiciary Law § 35(8) 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 statewide assigned-counsel rate under County Law Article 18-B, effective April 1, 2023 (New York State Office of Indigent Legal Services)
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 · source
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