Life the voice of the unheard guardian ad litem (GAL) The Court cannot hear the protests of the five-year-old daughter that has been exposed to prescription drugs left within her reach or the odor of burnt marijuana in her presence nor the nine-year-old son that has spent even one night homeless and living in the backseat of the car with all of his family’s possessions in the trunk nor the two-year-old daughter that has spent the first two years of her life in foster care while her mother turned to drugs and her father remained in prison, a child barely an adult himself. It is without question that parents love their children more than anything. However, love is not enough to raise these children to become strong, confident, productive members of society. It is not always the parents that know what is best for the child. Parents always seem to have the best intentions. When children are born, parents have every desire to give a life to these children better than their own. However, what a parent wants all too often overshadows what a child needs. Fortunately, the courts provide someone to speak on behalf of the children and help to determine what is in the child’s best interest when the parents do not know or disagree. If the courts find that is in the best interest of the child, a court may appoint a guardian ad litem (GAL) to act as “next friend of the child, investigator or evaluator” or appoint legal counsel to act as an “attorney or advocate” to the child. In cases involving child abuse, abandonment or neglect, the court is required to appoint a GAL. Under the law, a GAL may investigate allegations affecting the child; interview the child, parents, “Guardian ad litem (GAL) is the ‘next friend of the child’” Meet the Attorney Amanda Salcido is an attorney practicing in family and dependency law. She is also a soldier in the United States Army JAG Corps. She take a personal, hands-on approach in representing her clients. For more information visit her website. Salcido Law Office Call Amanda to schedule an appointment. 863-688-1728 SalcidoLawOffice.com 28 WomanToWomanMagazine.com
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