This may vary by State but generally, in investigating and developing input for the court’s consideration, the GAL considers the following legal factors:
- the wishes of your child and both parents;
- whether a parent has engaged in a pattern or serious incident of violence between parents;
- the safety and well-being of the child and the safety of the parent who was the victim of the battery or abuse;
- your child’s interaction and relationship with you and other family members;
- the amount and quality of time you have spent with your child in the past;
- any necessary and reasonable custodial and life-style changes you propose to make to spend time with your child in the future;
- your child’s adjustment to home, school, religion, and community;
- your child’s age and developmental and educational needs at various ages;
- the mental or physical health of a parent, the child, or other person living in the proposed custodial household;
- the need for regularly occurring and meaningful placement to provide predictability and stability for your child;
- availability of child care services;
- the cooperation and communication between parents and whether either one unreasonably refuses to cooperate or communicate with the other;
- each parent’s ability to support the other parent’s relationship with the child and the likelihood a parent will interfere in the other parent’s continuing relationship with the child;
- any physical abuse or problems with alcohol or drugs; the reports of appropriate professionals; and
- other significant factors that would affect your child’s well-being.