Last updated 2026-08-18
TL;DR
In Arkansas, cost depends on the case. In private custody, the circuit court can make the parties pay all or part of the attorney ad litem fee under Ark. Code § 9-13-106. In dependency-neglect, the state usually pays the child's attorney ad litem. CASA time is volunteer. Read your appointment order. Confirm any dollar figure with the clerk or the appointed lawyer. There is no single statewide private rate.
How much does guardian ad litem cost in Arkansas?
There is no single statewide price for a guardian ad litem appointment in Arkansas. What you pay depends on the docket you are actually standing in.
In a private custody or visitation case, the circuit judge can appoint an attorney ad litem and can make the parties pay all or a portion of that lawyer's fees, costs, and disbursements. That billing power sits in Ark. Code § 9-13-106. [1] The appointment order, not a website, sets the retainer, the hourly rate, the expense rules, and who writes which check.
In a dependency-neglect case, the child's attorney ad litem is usually paid through the Administrative Office of the Courts Attorney Ad Litem Program. [2] That is a state program invoice, not a parent invoice for the child's lawyer. You may still pay your own lawyer. Those are different bills.
CASA volunteers do not send parents an hourly statement for advocacy time. [3] Local CASA programs are nonprofit. You can still owe filing fees, your own counsel, evaluations, or other court-ordered costs.
I would not budget off a rumor from another county. Read the order. Call the circuit clerk if the order is silent on money. Private family-law hourly rates in Arkansas move with the lawyer, the travel, and the judge. Nobody publishes a clean statewide private GAL rate table that I trust. If a number is not in an order or a signed fee contract, treat it as unverified.
If your case sits near a state line, do not assume the same pay rule applies next door. Alabama's cost path is a different statute stack.
Who pays the guardian ad litem in an Arkansas case?
Who pays is a case-type question first, a judge question second.
Private custody. Ark. Code § 9-13-106 lets the court require the parties to pay all or a portion of the attorney ad litem's fees, costs, and disbursements, and to allocate that bill between the parties. [1] One parent can be ordered to pay more than the other. An equal split is common. It is not required.
Dependency-neglect. The child's attorney ad litem is ordinarily paid with program funds administered through the Arkansas Judiciary's Attorney Ad Litem Program. [2] Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) conditions on state grants require that a trained guardian ad litem or court-appointed special advocate be appointed for the child in judicial abuse or neglect proceedings. CAPTA states that "a guardian ad litem, who has received training appropriate to the role ... shall be appointed to represent the child in such proceedings." [4] That federal condition is why Arkansas built a state-paid attorney ad litem path for these cases. It is not a promise that every related cost in your file is free.
CASA. The advocate is a screened volunteer. [3] You should not see a volunteer time invoice. Program fundraising and grants cover that work.
Probate guardianship of a minor or an adult is a different code title. The court can assess costs of the proceeding. Confirm the order and Ark. Code Title 28, Chapter 65 with the probate clerk before you assume the estate, the petitioner, or someone else writes the check. [5]
If you cannot pay a private retainer, say so early, in writing, with a pay stub or a tax return. Judges can reallocate. They can also refuse to appoint a private GAL if the file does not support the expense. Do not wait until the report is late to mention money.
Do you need a license for guardian ad litem in Arkansas?
No. You do not get a standalone occupational GAL license from a state licensing board the way a nurse or a real-estate broker does. Arkansas does not run a general guardian ad litem license window.
If the court wants an attorney ad litem, that person has to be a lawyer admitted in Arkansas. The Administrative Office of the Courts Attorney Ad Litem Program trains and lists attorneys who handle dependency-neglect appointments. [2] Complete the AOC training first. Confirm the current class dates and any annual education rule with AOC. Those details change. I will not invent an hour count or a processing time.
CASA is volunteer certification through a local program that follows National CASA/GAL training practice, including a pre-service block that National CASA describes as a 30-hour minimum. [6] That is program certification, not a state occupational license. Background checks and supervision sit with the local program.
A friend, a therapist, or an out-of-state lawyer is not automatically eligible. If you want the appointment work, get the law license first or apply to CASA. Skipping that step wastes everyone's time.
Parents sometimes ask whether they can be their own child's GAL. No. The point of the role is an independent best-interest voice. You already have a side.
If you are only a parent trying to understand the bill, you do not need any license. You need the order, the invoices, and a calendar.
How long does guardian ad litem take in Arkansas?
There is no one clock. Duration follows the case type and the order.
Private custody. The appointment lasts as long as the order says. Some judges want a written report before a temporary hearing. Some want the GAL through final decree. A thin file with two interviews can close in a handful of weeks. A high-conflict file with school records, medical releases, and a home visit can run for months. The order should state the end date or the ending event. If it does not, ask for a written end point. Open-ended private appointments are how bills grow.
Dependency-neglect. The child's attorney ad litem stays with the juvenile case through the statutory stages, including adjudication and permanency planning. Ark. Code § 9-27-338 requires a permanency planning hearing no later than 12 months after the juvenile is considered to have entered care. [7] Federal companion language in 42 U.S.C. § 675 uses the same 12-month permanency hearing frame. [8] Many of these cases do not vanish at month 12. Review hearings continue if the child remains in an out-of-home placement. Budget time in months, sometimes longer. I will not promise a close date.
CASA matches the life of the juvenile case. Volunteers are not paid by the hour, so how long is a question about the child's case, not your invoice.
Training time, if you want to serve, is a separate calendar. AOC sets attorney ad litem class dates. Local CASA sets volunteer classes. Confirm both. No vendor can guarantee a seat or a first appointment date.
What is the difference between an attorney ad litem and a CASA volunteer?
People mash these titles together. Courts do not.
An attorney ad litem is a licensed Arkansas lawyer appointed to represent the child's best interest. In dependency-neglect, that lawyer comes through the AOC program in most counties. [2] In private custody, the same title can appear under § 9-13-106, paid by the parties. [1] The lawyer can file motions, examine witnesses, and make a record.
A CASA volunteer is a trained lay advocate appointed to investigate and speak to the child's best interest. [3] National CASA/GAL sets a 30-hour pre-service training floor for that volunteer model. [6] The volunteer does not replace the child's lawyer. In many juvenile courtrooms you will see both.
Cost follows the title. Lawyer time is billed or state-paid. Volunteer time is not billed to parents. If your order says CASA, do not pay a stranger who calls and claims to be the GAL invoice desk without matching that call to the order.
Ark. Code § 9-27-303 is the juvenile-code definitions section you want if a pleading uses attorney ad litem, counsel, and court-appointed special advocate in the same paragraph. [9] Read the words. Then read the order. The caption on a business card is not the appointment.
I would rather have a tight written order than a fancy title. Scope fights are how private bills explode.
How does a private custody GAL bill get set?
The judge sets the frame. The lawyer then bills inside that frame.
Ask for these terms in the order, in writing: hourly rate, retainer amount, who pays the retainer, whether unused retainer is refunded, what expenses are allowed (mileage, records, testing), a monthly invoice duty, and a cap or a review hearing after a set number of hours. If the order is silent, you are negotiating in the dark.
Arkansas does not publish a statewide private GAL fee schedule. County practice varies across the state's circuit map. [10] A Little Rock complex custody file will not price like a short visitation dispute in a smaller county. Anyone selling you one number for the whole state is guessing.
Invoices should be itemized. Date, task, time unit. A line that reads "case review, 3.0 hours" with no content is how people get angry. You can ask for more detail. You can object in writing. You can set a fee hearing. Do it before the balance turns into a judgment. Waiting until after the report lands, then refusing to pay, is a bad look and a worse strategy.
I would not stack a full private custody evaluation on top of a GAL investigation unless the judge clearly wants both. Two paid fact-finders on the same interviews is a common way to light money on fire.
If you want a feel for how other states handle the private bill, Georgia and Florida are useful contrasts. Do not copy their rates into an Arkansas budget.
Do parents pay the attorney ad litem in a dependency-neglect case?
Usually not for the child's attorney ad litem. That lawyer is typically paid through the AOC Attorney Ad Litem Program. [2] CAPTA is the federal reason the state built that capacity. [4]
You can still owe plenty. Your own lawyer, if you are not indigent. Court costs the clerk assesses. Services the court orders you to complete. Child-support or reimbursement claims that the Department of Human Services may pursue when a child is in an out-of-home placement. [11] Those are not GAL invoices, and mixing them up will make you miss a real deadline.
Indigent parents have a right to appointed counsel in removal proceedings under Ark. Code § 9-27-316. [12] That statute is about your lawyer and the child's lawyer, not about a private retainer check to the AAL. If a collection call claims you owe the child's state-paid attorney ad litem personally, match it to a signed order before you pay anyone.
Permanency planning is due by the 12-month mark in § 9-27-338. [7] The AAL is still working that whole stretch. Length of the case is not the same thing as a parent bill.
Keep every DHS, court, and counsel letter in one folder. Juvenile paper gets messy. The folder is cheaper than reconstructing a year from memory.
What does the appointment order control on cost and time?
Almost everything that will later hurt you if it is missing.
Role. Best-interest attorney, child's counsel, or CASA. Those are not synonyms. Fees follow the role.
Scope. Interviews, home visits, school contacts, medical records, whether the GAL may retain an expert, whether the GAL attends mediation. Broad scope is broad billing in a private case.
Duration. A date or a triggering event (final decree, permanency hearing, further order). Open-ended private work is how a quick look becomes a second mortgage.
Money. Rate, retainer, allocation, invoice timing, expense rules, and what happens if one party stops paying. § 9-13-106 gives the court the allocation power. [1] It does not fill in the blanks for you.
Access. The GAL needs records to finish on time. If a party sits on releases, the clock and the bill both stretch. Put a release deadline in the order if you are the one paying.
I would take a dull, specific order over a glowing speech from the bench. Speeches do not survive a fee dispute. Orders do.
If the judge appointed CASA, the order should say CASA. If a private lawyer later appears with an invoice and no order, stop and check the file. Pay the file, not the phone call.
How do you get appointed as an attorney ad litem in Arkansas?
Two doors, depending on the docket.
Dependency-neglect. Be an Arkansas-licensed attorney in good standing, complete the AOC Attorney Ad Litem training, and get on the program path the judiciary actually uses. [2] AOC, not a Facebook group, is the source for class dates, contract packets, and county coverage. Confirm every current requirement with AOC. I will not invent a quota, a pay rate, or a time to first case.
Private custody. Judges appoint from lawyers they trust, or from a local list if the circuit keeps one. [10] There is still no separate GAL license. The paper is your law license, your malpractice coverage if the judge or the client expects it, and an order that states rate and scope.
CASA is the non-lawyer door. Apply to the local program, finish the National CASA-style pre-service block (National CASA cites a 30-hour minimum), pass screening, and take supervision. [3] [6] You will not invoice parents.
If you are assembling statutes, appointment checklists, and a fee-tracking sheet before you talk to AOC or a judge, GALPath sells a $149 one-time GAL Certification Kit at /start. It is a publisher kit. It is not a license, not a court filing, and not a law-firm service.
Skip anyone who promises a guaranteed appointment after a weekend course. Arkansas courts do not sell seats on a docket.
What receipts and filings should a paying party keep?
Keep a boring file. It will save you.
The appointment order and every amended order. Highlight rate, retainer, allocation, and end date.
Proof of every payment. A canceled check, a clerk receipt if the retainer went into the registry, a card confirmation. Write the case number on each one.
Every invoice. If an invoice is a lump sum, ask for a task list. Do it in writing.
Your written objections, dated. "I think this is high" said in the hallway is not a record.
Releases you signed, and the date you returned them. Delay on records is a common reason a private GAL bills more time.
The GAL report and the certificate of service. Cost fights often hide inside "the report was late" or "I never got it."
Tax treatment of legal fees is fact-specific. I am not your tax advisor. Do not assume a GAL invoice is deductible. Ask a CPA with the invoices in hand.
If the other party was ordered to pay half and disappears, you still need that paper to ask the court for a reallocation or a judgment. Memory is not an exhibit.
This is also where people over-collect. You do not need a bound color binder. A single dated folder, paper or scanned, is enough.
How do Arkansas GAL costs compare with other states?
The honest comparison is structural, not a fake average hourly rate.
Arkansas splits the world the same way many states do. Juvenile dependency work is built to satisfy CAPTA with a trained GAL or CASA, and Arkansas pays children's attorneys ad litem through AOC. [2] [4] Private custody work is party-paid under a statute that lets the court allocate 100 percent of the fee. [1] That pattern will look familiar if you read Illinois or Colorado. The statute numbers change. The surprise bills happen in the same place: a private order with no cap.
What does not travel well is the dollar figure. Coastal retainers you see discussed for California are a poor budget tool in an Arkansas circuit. So is copying a volunteer-heavy county onto a private-lawyer county. Arizona and Delaware each mix CASA and counsel differently. Use those pages for the pay rule, not for a number to write on your Arkansas check.
Nobody has a good public dataset of private Arkansas GAL retainers. The closest honest method is still local: three recent appointment orders from your circuit, plus a call to the clerk. That beats a national blog every time.
What should you confirm before you write a check?
Confirm five things. Then pay.
One. The person billing you is named in a signed order. Match the spelling.
Two. The case type. A state-paid AAL in a dependency-neglect file is not supposed to look like a private retainer demand. [2] If it does, stop and ask the clerk.
Three. The rate, the retainer, and your share, as written. § 9-13-106 lets the court allocate. [1] It does not let a lawyer invent a new split later without a new order.
Four. Whether unused retainer comes back. Get that in the order or in a short signed fee letter.
Five. The end event. If the GAL is still working after the stated end, you want a new order, not a shrug.
Call the circuit clerk for local payment mechanics (registry versus direct). Call AOC only if this is a program AAL question. [2] [10] Confirm variable facts with those offices. I will not invent a current fee, a quota, or a processing time, and neither should a vendor.
GALPath is an independent publisher, not a law firm and not a service company. If you want the kit of checklists, use /start. If you want a binding number, use the court.
Write the check after the paper matches. Not before.
Frequently asked questions
How much does guardian ad litem cost in Arkansas?
There is no statewide private price. In custody cases the circuit court sets and allocates the attorney ad litem fee under Ark. Code § 9-13-106. In dependency-neglect, AOC usually pays the child's attorney ad litem. CASA volunteer time is not billed to parents. Read your order and confirm any dollar figure with the clerk or the appointed lawyer.
Do you need a license for guardian ad litem in Arkansas?
Arkansas does not issue a standalone GAL occupational license. An attorney ad litem must be licensed to practice law in Arkansas and, for dependency-neglect work, complete AOC attorney ad litem training. CASA volunteers complete local program certification (National CASA cites a 30-hour pre-service minimum). Confirm current training rules with AOC or the local CASA program.
How long does guardian ad litem take in Arkansas?
Private custody appointments last as long as the order says, often weeks to several months. Dependency-neglect attorney ad litem work follows the juvenile case, including a permanency planning hearing due by 12 months under Ark. Code § 9-27-338. CASA follows the juvenile case life. No publisher can promise a close date. Get the end event in writing.
Who pays for a CASA volunteer in Arkansas?
Parents do not get an hourly invoice for CASA volunteer time. Local CASA programs use grants, donations, and court program support. You can still owe your own lawyer, clerk fees, or other ordered services. If someone bills you for CASA hours, match that bill to a signed order before you pay.
Can the court make one parent pay the whole GAL fee?
Yes. Ark. Code § 9-13-106 lets the court require the parties to pay all or a portion of the attorney ad litem's fees and to allocate that bill. An equal split is common, not mandatory. Income, who asked for the appointment, and who caused extra work all show up in these fights. Ask for the split in the order, not in a hallway chat.
Is a GAL the same as a child's attorney in Arkansas?
Not always. An attorney ad litem is a lawyer appointed for the child's best interest and can file and examine witnesses. A CASA volunteer is a trained lay advocate, not the child's lawyer. In dependency-neglect you may see both. Read Ark. Code § 9-27-303 definitions and your appointment order. The business card is not the role.
Do I pay the GAL if DHS took my children?
Usually you do not pay the child's attorney ad litem. That lawyer is typically paid through the AOC program. You may still pay your own counsel unless you are appointed a lawyer under Ark. Code § 9-27-316, plus other court-ordered costs. Do not treat a DHS or support notice as a GAL invoice. Match every demand to an order.
How are GAL invoices reviewed in a private case?
You review them first. Ask for dates, tasks, and time units. Object in writing if a line is wrong or outside the order's scope. The court can hold a fee hearing. Keep the order, the invoices, and your payments together. Informal complaints after the report is filed are weaker than a dated written objection.
Can I object to a GAL bill?
Yes. File or send a written objection that points to the order and the invoice lines you dispute. Ask for a hearing if you need one. Pay the undisputed part if the order requires ongoing payment, unless the court says otherwise. Silent nonpayment is how a disputed invoice becomes a judgment.
What is Administrative Order 15 in this context?
Arkansas Supreme Court Administrative Order No. 15 is the standards document the judiciary uses for attorneys ad litem in these cases. In practice, AOC training and program rules implement those standards. Get the current order text and the current training memo from the Arkansas Judiciary or AOC. Do not rely on an old PDF a colleague emailed years ago.
Does a GAL replace a custody evaluator?
No. A GAL investigates and advocates under the appointment order. A custody evaluation is a separate expert process if the court orders one. Paying for both without a clear reason is often wasted money. If the judge already narrowed the issues, ask whether a focused update beats a second full workup.
How do I request a GAL in an Arkansas custody case?
File a motion in the circuit case and explain why the child needs an independent best-interest lawyer. Propose scope, a payment split, and a cap or review point. The court may appoint, refuse, or appoint CASA if a program exists and the docket fits. Bring a draft order. Vague oral requests produce vague, expensive appointments.
What if I cannot afford the GAL retainer?
Say so immediately, in writing, with proof of income. Ask the court to reallocate, reduce scope, use CASA if available, or skip a private GAL. Do not accept an open-ended private appointment you cannot fund. Ignoring the retainer usually hurts you at the next hearing more than a frank inability-to-pay filing does.
Sources
- Arkansas Code § 9-13-106, Appointment of attorney ad litem (Justia 2023): Circuit courts may appoint an attorney ad litem in a custody matter and may require the parties to pay all or a portion of that lawyer's fees, costs, and disbursements, allocated between the parties.
- 42 U.S.C. § 5106a, CAPTA state grant eligibility (Cornell LII): CAPTA requires states, as a grant condition, to appoint a trained guardian ad litem or CASA (or both) for a child in judicial child-abuse or neglect proceedings.
- Arkansas Code § 28-65-213, Rights of incapacitated person (Justia 2023): Adult guardianship respondents have statutory hearing rights, including counsel-related protections, under the probate guardianship code.
- National CASA/GAL Association, the CASA/GAL model: National CASA/GAL describes a pre-service training minimum of 30 hours for volunteer advocates.
- Arkansas Code § 9-27-338, Permanency planning hearing (Justia 2023): A permanency planning hearing is required no later than 12 months after the juvenile is considered to have entered care.
- 42 U.S.C. § 675, ASFA case-review and permanency definitions (Cornell LII): Federal foster-care case-review definitions use a 12-month permanency hearing frame that state juvenile codes implement.
- Arkansas Code § 9-27-303, Juvenile Code definitions (Justia 2023): The Juvenile Code defines attorney ad litem, counsel, and related terms used in dependency-neglect pleadings.
- Arkansas Judiciary, Circuit Courts: Arkansas circuit courts (organized by judicial circuit) are the trial courts that issue GAL and attorney ad litem appointment orders.
- Arkansas DHS, Division of Children and Family Services: DCFS is the state agency that brings dependency-neglect cases and manages children in out-of-home placements.
- Arkansas Code § 9-27-316, Right to counsel (Justia 2023): Juveniles and indigent parents have statutory counsel rights in Juvenile Code proceedings, including appointment of an attorney ad litem for the juvenile.