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Welcome to Family Law Matters. I’m Dr. Michael Mantell, always privileged to be joining Bonnie Rabinovitch-Mantel, owner and managing partner of the Primus Family Law Group. Hi, Bonnie.

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Hi, Michael. How are you doing today? I’m doing great. Thanks very much for asking, always.

Bonnie, today I want to talk about an interesting topic that I’ve been bumping up against, and I shouldn’t say bumping up against, but finding more and more people are turning to counsel, attorneys, for the children in a divorce process. What’s going on with that, and what does that involve when children need an attorney, their own counsel? Well, first of all, you can’t hire an attorney for your children, at least not yet. The court has to appoint it.

What they have to decide is they have to decide that there is such a significant issue going on with the children or with the parents that the child needs his or her own attorney. That can happen, let’s say the child is a witness of domestic violence. The child’s parents are embroiled in maybe some criminal activity or some drug issues where they’re not the best representatives of their children’s desires, and so the court may appoint an attorney for the children.

It can also happen where the parents are completely and utterly conflicted with the children. For example, your child is a teenager and doesn’t want to see dad at all whatsoever. Whether or not mom has played a part in that decision or whether or not the child has gotten there on its own because of things dad has done, the court may decide in that situation that it’s just better to get the child its own attorney because child’s not going to testify in court.

They are trying to do whatever they can to avoid children having to step up and testify against their parents, so they try alternative means that are less intrusive. Allowing a child to have their own attorney brings the child’s position to the court without having to put the child on the stand themselves. So let me be sure I understand, can a parent go to the court and ask the court to appoint a child counsel? Yes, one of the sides can definitely request that in a motion and then the judge will hear all the material facts and information required to make that decision for the best interests of the child.

And if you have a case and you believe that that child needs his or her own counsel, you go to the court and represent that position for the parent? For the parent. If it’s the parent, my client’s position that child needs and it’s his or her own attorney, yes, then that is our motion to make. And Michael, sometimes it’s even more complicated than that.

You can have two or three children that require different attorneys because child A has a different position than child B. So there can sometimes be several individuals involved in this case, which, you know, unfortunately increases the cost because now parents are having to pay for another attorney. Sometimes what the county will do, what the court will do, is they will pay for it. And it’s called a county rate.

So you get an attorney at a ridiculous rate, but the county pays for it. And so the child then has a confidential relationship with that attorney? Absolutely. Her attorney, I see.

That gives the child a safe space, not necessarily a therapist, because the therapist is precluded from testifying due to patient therapist privilege, whereas the attorney is allowed to go in and represent that child’s interests. And in your team, Primus Family Law Group, do you have minor counsel on staff? Three of my five attorneys are appointed regularly as minors counsel by the court. And so if a client of Primus Family Law Group wanted to talk to a minor counsel, not necessarily hiring them, but want to understand a little bit more, you have that available to them at Primus Family Law Group? Yes, but again, they cannot hire one of our attorneys to be minors counsel.

And if we are the attorney for the parent, nobody in my office will be retained or appointed as minors counsel for that child. It will be somebody else on the list because of the conflict of interest possibly between the parent and the child. We can’t represent both sides of the case.

Always very interesting, Bonnie. Thank you very, very much. If people want to get more information about this topic of minors counsel, how can they reach you? They can reach us at 619-574-8000.

And Malani will put you on my calendar for a free 30 minute phone consultation. Or you can reach out through our website at www.PrimusFamilyLaw.com. Very, very, very good. Bonnie, thank you always for another wonderful Family Law Matters.

We’ll see you next time. My pleasure, Michael. Have a great day.