Legal Presumptions and the Role of Mental Health Professionals in Child Custody Proceedings

Authors

Janet M. Bowermaster

Abstract

In child custody cases, mental health professionals are frequently used to evaluate the fitness of parents, the effects of child-parent separation, and the best interest of the child. Frequently, however, the courts delegate custody decision-making authority to those mental health professionals. This article examines the history and use of legal presumptions in child custody law, and ultimately questions the propriety of the role that mental health professionals currently play in custody disputes.

First Page

265

Recommended Citation

Janet M. Bowermaster, Legal Presumptions and the Role of Mental Health Professionals in Child Custody Proceedings, 40 Duq. L. Rev. 265 (2002).
Available at: https://dsc.duq.edu/dlr/vol40/iss2/5