Custody & Kidnapping

Although I cannot say specifically how things are done in STATE or in your specific county, generally a guardian’s reports and recommendations are shared with all parties in a court case. So, if both parents are represented by lawyers, the lawyers would receive the report - if a party is unrepresented, it’s possible that the party himself/herself would get the report but this is not always the case. Some states may only allow an unrepresented party to read the report but not to copy it or have a physical copy of it. The court clerk or the judge’s court attorney may be able to tell you what is permitted in your court.

One major reason that a report needs to be shared is that if the judge is going to base his/her decision in part on the report, the other parties in the case need to be able to evaluate the report and possibly present evidence to the judge to combat the report if it is against that party. In some states, a party can also subpoena the guardian’s notes and other information that the guardian used to issue the report - in other states, this is not allowed. To find out exactly what your rights are in your state, you may want to call a local legal services organization to find out. Here is a link for lawyers, some of which may be free or low-cost:LINK And here is some information on custody in your state in case that is useful:LINK