Guardians ad litem and child representation in Washington: who they are, what they owe your child, and who pays
If custody is contested in Washington, the court can appoint someone to look into your family and report to the judge. This page is what Washington’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 Washington’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
The court may appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the interests of a minor or dependent child when the court believes the appointment of a guardian ad litem is necessary to protect the best interests of the child in any proceeding under this chapter.
Source: RCW 26.12.175 · source
What duty they owe your child
best interests
The guardian ad litem’s role is to investigate and report factual information regarding the issues ordered to be reported or investigated to the court. The guardian ad litem shall always represent the best interests of the child.
Source: RCW 26.12.175 · source
Who can be appointed
RCW 26.12.175 contemplates both compensated (non-attorney) guardians ad litem and volunteer/CASA guardians ad litem (‘Guardians ad litem who are not volunteers shall provide the parties with an itemized accounting of their time and billing for services each month’); it does not require the appointee to be a licensed attorney, and the role is described as investigative/reporting rather than legal representation.
Who pays
The court shall enter an order for costs, fees, and disbursements to cover the costs of the guardian ad litem. The court may order either or both parents to pay for the costs of the guardian ad litem, according to their ability to pay.
Source: RCW 26.12.175(1)(d) · source
RCW 26.12.175(1)(d): ‘If both parents are indigent, the county shall bear the cost of the guardian, subject to appropriation for guardians’ ad litem services by the county legislative authority.’
We looked for an official Washington fee schedule for privately appointed guardians ad litem and custody evaluators, and did not find one. That is true of almost every state — only Minnesota and Massachusetts publish figures, and both are subsidised 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
Washington 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: RCW 26.09.220 · 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 Washington
Washington explicitly builds a county-funded backstop into its GAL fee statute: if the court finds both parents indigent, RCW 26.12.175(1)(d) shifts the entire cost of the guardian ad litem to the county (subject to the county legislative authority’s appropriation for GAL services), rather than leaving indigent parents to go without a GAL or the appointee to serve unpaid. The statute also maintains detailed statewide background-check and registry requirements (RCW 26.12.175(3)) for every GAL, whether volunteer/CASA or paid.
Other states
Related
- Guardians ad litem, child’s attorneys and custody evaluators — the four roles, the science, and what to ask
- Washington child custody — how custody is decided here
- Getting your finances in order — including who pays the lawyers
- Co-parenting — after the order is made