The questions a law guardian asks a child are open-ended and age-appropriate, and they cluster around a predictable set of topics: where the child lives and sleeps, their daily routines, how they get along with each parent and other family members, school and activities, feelings and safety, basic needs like food and medical care, and the child’s own preferences about custody. The specific wording changes with the child’s age and the facts of the case, but the categories stay remarkably consistent across jurisdictions.1Legal Information Institute. Guardian Ad Litem
Below is what each category tends to sound like in practice, and what the guardian is listening for underneath the answers.
Where You Live and Who Lives With You
Living arrangement questions usually come first because they are concrete and easy for a child to answer. Expect things like “Where do you sleep at night?” and “Who else lives in your house?” In a shared custody situation, the guardian asks about both homes: “What’s your room like at your mom’s place?” or “How do you feel when it’s time to go to your dad’s house?”
Woven into these questions are safety and comfort probes. “Is there anything you’d change about where you live?” and “Do you feel safe when you’re at home?” give a child room to raise concerns they would not volunteer on their own. Courts weigh the quality of each parent’s home as one factor in the best-interest analysis, so what the child says here feeds directly into the guardian’s recommendation.2Legal Information Institute. Best Interests of the Child
Daily Routines
Stability is a big factor in custody decisions, and daily routines are where it shows up. A guardian will ask “What time do you usually go to bed?” or “What do you do after school?” to see whether the child’s life is structured and predictable. Consistent patterns around meals, homework, and bedtime signal a functioning household; inconsistency can point to problems worth investigating.
Equally important is who runs those routines. “Who makes dinner at your house?” or “Who helps you get ready for school in the morning?” tells the guardian which parent is doing the day-to-day caregiving work. Courts look at which parent has been the child’s primary caretaker and how involved each parent is in the child’s daily life.2Legal Information Institute. Best Interests of the Child
Family Relationships
Relationship questions get at the emotional core of the case. The guardian wants to know who the child is bonded to and how family members treat each other. “Who do you feel closest to?” is a deceptively simple question that often produces the most revealing answers. Siblings, grandparents, stepparents, and other adults in the household come up too.
Questions about each parent tend to be specific rather than abstract. Instead of “Do you love your mom?” the guardian will ask “What kinds of things do you and your mom do together?” or “What happens when your dad gets upset?” Action-based questions open a window into how the household actually runs, which is far more useful than asking a child to rank their parents. A child who describes cooking dinner with one parent and watching movies with the other is painting a picture the guardian can work with.
The guardian is also watching for signs of alienation. If a child speaks about one parent in language that sounds rehearsed, uses adult vocabulary they would not normally know, or gives answers that mirror the other parent’s legal position, that raises red flags. Guardians are trained to spot the difference between a child’s genuine feelings and a script.
School and Activities
School questions tell the guardian about the child’s social world and how involved each parent is in their development. “What’s your favorite subject?” or “Do you like your teacher?” starts a conversation about how the child is doing academically. Follow-ups usually ask which parent helps with homework, attends school events, or communicates with teachers.
Activities round out the picture. “Do you play any sports or take any lessons?” and “What do you like to do with your friends?” help the guardian assess the child’s social connections and opportunities. If one parent’s living situation would force the child to change schools or give up activities, the guardian factors that disruption into the analysis.
Feelings and Safety
This is the most sensitive part of the interview, and the questions are asked carefully. “Is there anything that worries you?” or “Do you ever feel scared at home?” are designed to surface concerns the child might not raise on their own, without leading them toward a particular answer.
The guardian is specifically watching for indicators of abuse or neglect: unexplained injuries, extreme fear of a parent, sudden behavioral changes, poor hygiene, or age-inappropriate knowledge. A child who flinches when asked about a parent’s anger, or who describes being left alone for long periods, is giving the guardian critical information. If a safety concern surfaces, the guardian is typically required to report it to child protective services regardless of what the custody case is doing.
Even when abuse is not in the picture, these questions reveal the child’s emotional health. A child who says “I feel sad a lot” or “I don’t have anyone to talk to when I’m upset” may need counseling, and the guardian can recommend that in the report.
Health and Basic Needs
Guardians ask about physical and mental health to see whether each parent is keeping up with care. “Have you been to the doctor lately?” or “Do you take any medicine?” establishes whether appointments and prescriptions are being managed. For younger children, questions may cover dental visits, vaccinations, glasses, or hearing aids.
Basic needs questions can feel blunt, and they are meant to. “Do you have enough to eat every day?” and “Do you have clothes that fit?” identify situations where fundamental needs are not being met. Findings here carry serious weight. If the guardian discovers that a child regularly goes hungry or lacks appropriate clothing, that goes into the report and can shift the court’s decision on custody, visitation, or child support.
What the Child Wants
The guardian will usually ask the child where they would prefer to live and what they wish were different about their family. For younger children, this might be as simple as “If you could pick, whose house would you want to be at?” For teenagers, the conversation is more nuanced, exploring the reasons behind the preference and what the child envisions going forward.
A child’s stated preference is one factor in the best-interest analysis, not the deciding one. Courts give the preference more weight as the child gets older and shows the maturity to articulate a reasoned opinion. Many states set age benchmarks. Around a dozen states presume that children 12 or 14 and older are mature enough to express a meaningful preference, while other states leave that determination entirely to the judge. Even where a child’s preference carries significant weight, a judge can override it if the preferred arrangement clearly would not serve the child’s well-being.2Legal Information Institute. Best Interests of the Child
How the Interview Is Set Up
Most law guardians interview a child in a low-pressure setting rather than a courtroom. The conversation often takes place at the guardian’s office, the child’s school, or sometimes the child’s home. Younger children may be given toys or drawing materials to ease the tension. The guardian typically meets with the child alone, without either parent present, so the child can speak freely. Parents get separate interviews.
The guardian’s approach shifts with the child’s age. A five-year-old might be asked to draw a picture of their family and then talk about it, while a teenager gets a more direct conversation. Guardians are trained to avoid leading questions and to watch for signs that a child has been coached. What the child says is not strictly confidential the way therapy notes would be. The guardian generally summarizes the child’s perspective in a written report to the court, though most avoid using the child’s exact words and frame their findings as professional observations.
How to Prepare Your Child Without Coaching Them
The best preparation is honest and low-key. Tell your child they will be meeting someone whose job is to make sure kids are okay, and that this person wants to hear about their life. Encourage them to answer honestly and reassure them there are no right or wrong answers. That is it.
What you should not do is tell the child what to say, quiz them on their answers beforehand, or badmouth the other parent in the days leading up to the interview. Guardians are experienced at detecting coached responses, and a child who sounds like they are reciting a script damages your credibility more than anything the child could say on their own. Kids who use adult legal language, describe complex custody arguments in detail, or suddenly express intense hostility toward a parent they previously got along with are sending signals the guardian will flag immediately.
If your child is anxious, acknowledge that it is normal to feel nervous about talking to a stranger. Let them know they can say “I don’t know” when they genuinely do not know the answer. The guardian is not testing them. A relaxed conversation where the child feels safe speaking freely is the outcome everyone benefits from.