Miami family law attorney blog
Viewing entries tagged
Psychological Testing
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
Can the court require a parent to undergo a psychological evaluation in a Florida child custody case? Yes, if certain requirements are met. The parent’s mental condition must be in controversy and there must be good cause for the examination. A parent appealed the court’s order requiring him to undergo a psychological evaluation in the case Childs v. Cruz-Childs, 2D22-787 (Fla. 2d DCA December 28, 2022).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
Can a court order a psychological evaluation of parents in a Florida child custody case? Yes, if certain conditions are met. The party requesting that a psychological evaluation take place has the burden of showing that the mental condition of a parent is in controversy and that good cause exists for the examination. This was an issue in the case Pearson v. Pearson, 3D21-1786 (Fla 3d DCA December 1, 2021).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
Requesting a psychological evaluation of a parent in a Florida child custody case implicates constitutional privacy concerns. This is why Florida law requires that certain steps and analysis take place before a court can compel a parent to undergo psychological testing. The case Ludwigsen v. Ludwigsen, 2D20-1228 (Fla. 2d DCA December 2, 2020), highlights some of the issues for a court to consider in ordering a parent to be evaluated.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
Can a parent’s mental health records be subpoenaed in a Florida child custody case? The answer depends on what is at issue - is the parent being accused of having a mental health issue which affects his or her ability to parent? In the case Ricketts v. Ricketts, 2D19-3854 (Fla. 2d DCA June 19, 2020), we see a case in which it was ultimately ruled that discovery of the mother’s mental health records was inappropriate.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
Ordering a mental health evaluation in a Florida child custody case requires more than a feeling or belief that a parent is “crazy”. The mental health of the parent must first be “in controversy” as defined by Florida case law. If the matter is in controversy, good cause must exist for the evaluation to take place. In the appellate case Reno v. Reno, 1D19-1281 (Fla. 1st DCA October 3, 2019), a former wife appealed a court’s order to have her psychologically evaluated because of the former husband’s allegations that she was falsely reporting him for abusing their child.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Custody
Requesting a psychological evaluation in a Florida child custody case requires more than just a “hunch” that a parent has psychological issues. There must be competent and substantial evidence to support such a request, and it must be related to the best interest of the children involved. In the case Curtis v. Reinhardt, 243 So.3d 451 (Fla. 5th DCA 2018), an order requiring an accused sex offender to undergo psychosexual evaluation was appealed.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
Many parties to Florida child custody cases want to know, “Can I have the other parent undergo a psychological evaluation?” The answer to this question is the classic lawyer response: It depends. Florida law relies on a two-part analysis to determine if such an evaluation is warranted: (1) The examination must be related to a matter in controversy and (2) the party requesting the exam must show good cause exists for it.
