July 27, 2026
In family court you will encounter a lot of voices – parents, their attorneys, maybe a child support attorney, and often, a guardian ad litem representing the best interests of the child.
But the way that we do it here in Wisconsin is just one of the approaches seen across the country. Even our neighboring states do things very differently. Some states have multiple attorney roles, representing both best interests and children’s wishes. In other states, a guardian ad litem isn’t even an attorney.
Is it time to consider changing or adding to our approach?
Guardians ad Litem in Wisconsin
Wis. Stat. section 767.403(3) dictates that a Wisconsin GAL shall be a licensed attorney in Wisconsin.
Morgan Gulledge, Marquette 2024, is a staff attorney with Centro Legal in Milwaukee, where she focuses on family law advocacy and guardian ad litem work.
Further eligibility for attorneys to serve as GAL is outlined by the SCR 35.015. This rule requires nine hours of GAL education before their initial appointment and at least six additional hours of approved GAL education in each following reporting period to continue eligibility. A portion of both the initial hours and continuing hours must be on the topic of family violence.
The responsibilities of a family GAL include advocating for the child’s best interests based on a set of factors, also outlined in the statute. One of those factors is the wishes of the child, but the GAL is not bound by those wishes. If the GAL, using the other statutory best-interest factors, determines that the child’s wishes are not in their best interest, they may advocate against the child’s wishes.
What Do Our Neighboring States Do?
Illinois family courts have three different types of representatives: a guardian ad litem, a child representative, and an attorney for the child:
- A GAL in Illinois serves as a fact finder for the court. They investigate the case, similar to a Wisconsin GAL, and make a final written recommendation to the court. They aren’t required to be at further court proceedings but may be called as a witness to testify to their recommendation.
- A child representative acts more in the attorney role, taking a position on what is the child’s best interest and then advocating for that position during court proceedings, more similar to a Wisconsin GAL.
- The last role, of an attorney for the child, is distinctly different. Rather than advocating for the child’s best interest, the attorney for the child advocates directly for the child’s interest. In this role, the child is your client, and they are owed all duties owed to any other client.
To qualify for any of these roles, you must be an attorney who has practiced family law, child welfare, or child advocacy for at least five out of the last eight years. Applicants then apply, are interviewed, and attend a two-day training course before accepting appointments.
Minnesota established a board in 2010 to administer their guardian ad litem program statewide. The board oversees GAL requirements, applications to the program, performance evaluations, and provides support, advice, and supervision to GALs in their program.
Rather than only attorneys, Minnesota’s GALs must have a bachelor’s degree in psychology, social work, education, nursing, law, or other child-related discipline. There is an application process including written application, interviews, references, and background checks.
All Minnesota GALs must complete juvenile protection training administered by the board, and GALs in family court must also complete domestic violence training and family court training. Each year GALs are required to complete 15 additional hours of continuing education, including three hours relating to cultural competency.
Similar to Illinois, Iowa has separate roles for a child’s attorney and a GAL. A child’s attorney is appointed to directly represent the child’s wishes, whereas the GAL provides representation for the child’s best interests without being bound by the child’s wishes. To serve in either role, they must be a practicing attorney in Iowa and attend training applicable to their role; however, there are no mandated training-hour requirements.
Should Wisconsin Consider a Change?
Of each of these alternatives, Wisconsin’s program appears to be the least thorough in terms of requirements, hiring, oversight, and training.
The Wisconsin GAL program could be bolstered in any number of ways, looking to our neighboring states for inspiration. Perhaps by creating a board to oversee the roster of GALs in Wisconsin, creating a cohesive application and training program, and providing support to GALs in their practice.
In the growing movement toward a right to counsel, it may also be important to add a framework for representation of the child, not just their best interests. Especially for older children, it can be hard for them to have someone in court representing their interests while not understanding that this person will not always represent their wishes.
If nothing else, training itself can be bolstered by focusing on the nonlegal aspects of GAL work. There is a reason some states, like Minnesota, have GALs that are social workers or psychologists, rather than just lawyers. The practice of GAL work requires a higher level of understanding – in cultural competency, child development, child and family interviewing skills, and more – that isn’t typically found in legal education.
This article was originally published on the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Public Interest Law Section Blog. Visit the State Bar sections or the Public Interest Law Section web pages to learn more about the benefits of section membership.