Discretionary appointment of guardian ad litem (GAL)
The court may appoint a guardian ad litem (GAL) for a minor in a guardianship matter, but the GAL seemingly need not be an attorney.
Ind. Code § 29-3-2-3 states, “the court shall appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the interests of the … minor if the court determines that the … minor is not represented or is not adequately represented by counsel.” (emphasis added). This is true unless the court waives the appointment under Ind. Code § 29-3-2-3(b) or if § 29-3-2-4 does not apply.
However, neither the Article covering Guardianships and Protective Proceedings nor the Title covering Probate provide a definition for “guardian ad litem”, so there is no evidence that the GAL must be an attorney. See Ind. Code §§ 29–3–1–1 to 29–3–1–18 and Ind. Code § 29-1-1-3. Furthermore, depending on the case characteristics, the guardianship case may fall under the jurisdiction of a variety of courts, including the juvenile court or a court having jurisdiction over custody of the child (see Ind. Code §§ 29-3-2-1; 31-30-1-6), and no court rules applicable statewide could be located that indicated the GAL must be a licensed attorney.
