Blog

Options for You When Divorcing a Spouse with Mental Illness in the Lake Mary, Florida Area or Orlando, Florida Area

You are divorcing your spouse in Lake Mary, Florida or Orlando, Florida Area.  Your spouse has been Baker Acted or diagnosed with mental illness. You have concerns for your children’s safety due to the way that your spouse parents the children because of their mental illness. What can you do? If your spouse’s ability to parent the children is negatively impacted and is harmful to the children due to their mental illness, then you have options. There are many tools in the tool box that you can choose to help you support, bolster, and prove the elements in your case.

Guardian Ad Litem

You can motion the court for a Guardian Ad Litem. A Guardian Ad Litem can be an attorney, psychologist, or mental health counselor. The Guardian Ad Litem will speak to the parents and the children. They will review the children’s school, medical and any other records. They will speak to relatives, teachers, therapists, coaches, etc. They will write a Guardian Ad Litem Report to the court evaluating what they have found. They can testify at trial too.

Social or Custody Evaluation

You can request a social investigation, sometimes referred to as a custody evaluation. With a custody evaluation, a psychologist will perform testing on you, your spouse, and the children. They will perform all the tasks that a Guardian Ad Litem does and they will prepare a report evaluating the best interest of the children factors; and make a recommendation to the court on custody. They can also testify at the trial.

Psychological or Psychiatric Evaluation 

You can request a psychological/psychiatric evaluation on your spouse. You must show there is Good Cause and that the Mental Health of your spouse is in controversy. If you meet that burden, then the court will order your spouse to submit to a psychological/psychiatric evaluation. 

The report will be provided to the parties and the court. In the evaluation, the psychologist/psychiatrist will state the mental health diagnosis of the spouse and their medications. They will have spoken to the spouse’s prior psychologist/psychiatrist. They will make a recommendation in their report whether it is safe or not safe for the parent to have Timesharing with the children. They will also recommend if Timesharing should be supervised or unsupervised.

If your spouse has gotten treatment and is currently taking their medication, and their therapist’s opinion is that they should have contact with the children, then you can request a reunification expert to reincorporate the child and parent’s relationship.

If you have more questions regarding a Marital and Family Law matter, you may call Ann Marie Giordano Gilden at Ann Marie Giordano Gilden, P.A. at 407-732-7620 and set an initial consultation. You may also visit my website at: https://www.annmariegildenlaw.com

This article is for informational purposes only and does not form an attorney client privilege.