Info & Intake
A guardian ad litem may be appointed in any proceeding for the disposition of children when custody of the minor children is contested by any party to appear and represent the best interests of the minor children. Once an Order Appointing Guardian Ad Litem is signed and filed then Laura Cass, Attorney at Law, L.L.C. may begin the intake process. The general steps to obtain the Guardian ad Litem services of Laura Cass, Attorney at Law, L.L.C. are as follows:
1. An Order Appointing Guardian Ad Litem is entered in one of two ways:
*Via a Stipulated Order Appointing Guardian Ad Litem signed by the parties or counsel, if represented; or
**By filing a Motion to Appoint a Guardian Ad Litem with the assigned Court.
*A Stipulated Order must be approved by all partied names in the Domestic Relations Case. The Order is provided to the assigned judge via electronic proposed text e-mail addresses. This can be done by counsel if the parties are represented. If the parties are not represented, then the parties can prepare the order, sign it, and submit it to the Court. Click here for a link to the Court’s proposed text e-mails from Albuquerque, Rio Rancho and the surrounding areas.
**If the Order is not agreed upon by the other party, then the requesting party can file a Motion to Appoint Guardian Ad Litem with the Court along with any other relevant pleadings. All local filing rules and notice of hearing provisions should be followed. Click here for a link to the Court’s local rules.
NOTE: Most attorneys are familiar with GALs and believe that it is a useful and necessary reality of some of the more complex custody cases. However, there are some attorneys who do not work well with GALs and instead unnecessarily increase the costs and conflict for everyone involved. In these latter situations, Laura Cass has identified certain firms and individual attorneys who she is not willing to work with. In these cases, she can and will decline the appointment.
2. Form of Order: It is important to draft the Order Appointing Guardian Ad Litem to the specific needs of the case; including all directives, decision-making authority and deadlines. Click here for descriptions of the types of Guardian ad Litem services.
3. Provide the Order to Laura Cass, Attorney at Law, L.L.C. along with parties’ contact information and e-mail addresses to laura@lauracass.com. After receiving the Order Appointing Guardian Ad Litem, Laura Cass will do the following:
Send an initial GAL letter to parties and counsel, if applicable with instructions on the investigation process.
Register with newmexico.tylerhost.net so that she can automatically receive all pleadings that are filed and served.
Send the parents links to pay the retainer fees via LawPay.
4. After all parties pay the retainer fees, Laura Cass, Attorney at Law, L.L.C. will file an Entry of Appearance as Guardian ad Litem for the children and begin working on the case. Your case now becomes Active. Click on the Current Cases link below for information on this next stage.
5. The intake process is complete and Laura Cass, Attorney at Law, L.L.C. begins the investigation process which is detailed in the Current Cases link.
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