Category: Expert Witness
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Bias and Inaccurate Parenting Evaluations: 3 Tips From An Expert
After receiving the results of a parenting evaluation, which likely includes recommendations for timesharing and decision making responsibilities, many parents are left feeling speechless and shocked by the clear signs of biases found throughout the final report. This is because, the reality is, that the results of a Social Investigation (previously referred to as a…
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Child Custody Evaluators Are Sometimes Wrong; Work Product Reviews and Rebuttal Witness Testimony Can Help
Several weeks ago, a guy in a pickup truck came flying down the dirt road that leads to my house and as he reached the soft bend in the road, he lost control of his car and plowed directly through my fence. Without slowing down at all, he sped through our front yard and came…
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Gender Equality in Child Custody Evaluations, Does it Exist?
As a father involved in a child custody dispute, you may feel nervous when thinking about the possibility that some child custody evaluators and judges could hold antiquated and inaccurate belief that men are less capable of providing nurturance than the mother, or that your bond is somehow less important than the child and mother’s.…
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Court-ordered Therapy: Five things to look for when choosing a clinician in Florida
Court-ordered therapy is meant to be a catalyst for change, for an individual or family who, is at any time, involved in the legal system and subsequently ordered by a judge or magistrate to participate in therapy with a mental health provider. Throughout the 15th Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County, court-ordered therapy is used…
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Your Children Deserve an Unbiased, Quality Social Investigation. Here’s What to Look For Before Agreeing to Your Family’s Custody Evaluator
When going through a divorce, if it has become abundantly clear that you and your ex are not able to come to an agreement regarding post-divorce parenting plans, families can ask the Court to order a child custody evaluation, also referred to as a social investigation, to occur, in order to help the Judge make an informed final decision. Because these evaluations can literally change…
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Parental Alienation & High Conflict Divorce
Parental Alienation & High Conflict Divorce: Without question, the break up of a marriage creates an overwhelming amount of stress, even during ideal circumstances. When you add kids in to the mix, the new source of concern typically (and appropriately) shifts away from the parent’s own feelings and instead becomes centered around making sure that…
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Psychological Tip #1 for Attorneys: Timing is everything in court
Although Judges are trained to be neutral parties in the courtroom and one would assume they are in complete control of their decision-making process, studies have shown that there are several factors (which attorneys can often subtly manipulate) in order to help tip the scales during difficult trials. A large research study in Ireland analyzed the…
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Your options after receiving a “bad” child custody evaluation: Advice from a forensic psychologist
The child custody evaluation process should involve a rather systematic method of gathering information, formulating a hypothesis, and rendering opinions pertaining to the best interests of the children involved. Unfortunately, not all psychologists or mental health professionals are properly trained or even qualified to conduct these evaluations, yet they continue to perform them and have the potential to cause more damage than good. …
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Therapeutic Supervised Visitation in Palm Beach County
If you are a mental health provider, case worker, parent, or attorney with questions regarding our Therapeutic Supervised Visitation Program, please feel free to contact us: …
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Capacity Assessments for Older Adults Making Changes to their Last Will and Testament
Recently, more and more attorneys and well advised families have approached our office seeking Testamentary Capacity Evaluations on elderly individuals who have decided to make changes to their Last Will and Testament. These evaluations are particularly helpful when dealing with high asset estates and conflictual families. They serve to preserve the testator’s wishes regarding the distribution of their estate, and avoid future claims of undue influence that could potentially invalidate a will. In these…