When the court orders a custody evaluation, your client is about to be interviewed, observed and possibly tested by a professional whose report may carry real weight. Preparing a client for a custody evaluation is mostly about removing uncertainty: what will happen, what to bring, how to behave, and what not to do, so the evaluator meets the client as they actually are rather than as an anxious, defensive version of themselves.
There is also a line the legal team must not cross. Preparation that explains the process is appropriate and helpful. Preparation that scripts answers, rehearses a narrative or coaches the children is not, and it tends to damage the client when it shows. This guide gives family law teams a workflow for the first category and a clear map of the second.
What happens in a custody evaluation?
A custody evaluation is a structured assessment, usually by a mental health professional or court-connected evaluator, that gathers information about the family and makes observations or recommendations about parenting arrangements. Names and formats vary: “custody evaluation,” “parenting evaluation,” “home study” and “social study” are all used, and scope ranges from a focused home visit to a comprehensive psychological evaluation.
Comprehensive evaluations commonly include:
- Individual interviews with each parent, often more than one
- Parent-child observation, at the office, in the home or both
- Home visits to see living arrangements and the child’s space
- Interviews with the children, depending on age
- Collateral contacts: teachers, pediatricians, therapists, childcare providers, relatives
- Records review: school, medical, court and other documents
- Psychological testing in some evaluations
Professional guidelines published by organizations such as the American Psychological Association and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts shape how many evaluators work, including their emphasis on using multiple sources of information. Practical consequence for your client: evaluators compare what they hear across interviews, collateral sources and records, so consistency and accuracy matter more than polish.
What should the team review before preparing the client?
Start with the appointment order. It defines the evaluation, and nearly every practical question the client will ask is answered there or in the evaluator’s engagement documents.
- Scope: the questions the court asked the evaluator to address
- Who the evaluator is, and whether they are court-appointed or agreed by the parties
- Fees, retainer and how costs are allocated between the parties
- Deadlines for the report and for any submissions
- Communication rules for parties and counsel, including whether materials must be copied to the other side
- Releases the client must sign for records
- How the report is distributed, and whether it is filed, sealed or restricted
Where does preparation end and coaching begin?
Preparation helps the client understand the process and present accurate information clearly. Coaching tries to shape what the client says or how the children respond. ABA Model Rule 3.4(b) prohibits counseling or assisting a witness to testify falsely, and state rules contain similar provisions; coaching also tends to backfire because rehearsed accounts stand out against collateral information.
| Appropriate preparation | Crosses the line |
|---|---|
| Explaining each step of the evaluation and how long it may take | Giving the client answers to likely questions |
| Encouraging honest, specific examples | Rehearsing a narrative until it sounds the same every time |
| Helping the client organize accurate records | Selecting records to create a misleading impression |
| Explaining that testing works best with candid answers | Suggesting the client research or practice psychological tests |
| Advising the client not to discuss the case with the children | Preparing the children for their interviews |
How do you prepare the client’s document packet?
Give the evaluator a curated, accurate and indexed packet, not everything the client has. A focused packet is more likely to be read, and accuracy protects the client’s credibility.
- A short parenting history: who did what, when, from birth to now
- Current schedule and history of parenting time, including exchanges
- Contact information for the children’s school, doctors, dentist, therapists and activities
- Recent school records and report cards
- Relevant communications with the other parent, as complete threads rather than excerpts
- The client’s proposed parenting plan, if the attorney wants it included
- Documentation of any specific concerns, with dates and sources
Collecting these from clients is often the slowest part. Itemized requests with a clear deadline get better results; see client document request letters that get answered. If the firm collects records through CourtBriefly’s client record requests, submissions stay attached to the matter and missing items are tracked, so the attorney can review the exact version before anything goes to the evaluator. Whether the packet goes from counsel or from the client, and whether the other side must be copied, depends on the order and local practice.
How should collateral contacts be handled?
Provide a short, accurate list of people who know the children and the client’s parenting firsthand, and let them speak for themselves.
- Choose people with direct knowledge. Teachers, coaches, pediatric providers and childcare workers often matter more than friends and relatives.
- Record contact details and relationship. Name, role, how long they’ve known the child, phone and email, best time to reach them.
- Give a courtesy heads-up. The client can let contacts know an evaluator may call.
- Don’t script them. Neither the client nor the firm should tell contacts what to say.
How do you prepare the client for interviews, home visits and testing?
Focus on process and conduct, not content. The client should know what each part involves and the general principles of honest, child-centered participation.
Interviews
Encourage specific examples over characterizations, acknowledgment of the other parent’s strengths where they exist, plain admission of mistakes, and a focus on the children’s needs rather than the dispute. Clients should feel free to say “I don’t know” or “I don’t remember.”
Home visits and observation
The home should be safe, reasonably clean and have appropriate space for the children. Staging or dramatic changes are unnecessary. During observation, the client should interact with the children as they normally do.
Psychological testing
Clients should not research, practice or look up the tests. Many standardized personality inventories include validity scales designed to detect overly favorable or exaggerated responding, so candid answers serve the client better than strategic ones.
Template: client “what to expect” letter excerpt
“The evaluator’s job is to understand your family, not to judge you on a single conversation. Answer honestly, use specific examples, and focus on your children’s needs. Please don’t discuss the evaluation with the children, ask them about their interviews, or contact the evaluator outside the scheduled process. If you have questions about anything that happens, call us, not the evaluator.”
High-conflict clients often need this guidance repeated in writing; the guide to managing high-conflict family law clients covers setting those expectations.
What if there are safety concerns?
Real abuse happens, and evaluations are one place where it needs to be described accurately. Help the client present concerns factually, with dates, specifics and supporting records, and without exaggeration.
- If the client has experienced domestic violence, ask whether the evaluator has relevant training and whether the order allows safety accommodations, such as separate scheduling.
- Make sure the client has safety resources: 911 in an emergency, and the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or by texting START to 88788.
- If the client is the one accused, help them respond factually and avoid counter-accusations that aren’t supported.
What should the team do when the report arrives?
Read it against the record before reacting, calendar every deadline it triggers, and prepare the client for its contents. Clients often respond to an evaluation report emotionally, and the first conversation about it shapes what they do next.
- Calendar deadlines immediately. Objections, depositions, expert disclosures and hearing dates may all key off the report’s delivery.
- Compare the report to the record. Separate factual errors (wrong dates, misattributed statements, records not reviewed) from disagreements with the evaluator’s judgment. They call for different responses.
- Check what the evaluator received. Compare the report’s list of sources with the packet and collateral list your team provided.
- Ask about the file. Evaluators’ professional standards may limit how test materials and raw data are released, and some are provided only to another qualified professional. Learn the evaluator’s process early.
- Walk the client through it. If the order allows the client to see the report, the attorney should review it with them, explain next steps, and remind them not to contact the evaluator to argue.
The evaluation is one part of the evidence, not all of it; see building the evidentiary record in a custody case for how it fits the larger picture. Procedures for custody evaluations differ by jurisdiction and by evaluator, so clients with questions about their own case should get answers from their attorney rather than from the evaluator or the internet.
