Dear Members, we are excited to bring you the latest updates and events from the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) Indiana Chapter. AFCC is the premier interdisciplinary and international association of mental health and legal professions dedicated to the resolution of family conflict.
Testifying in Family Law Cases
Often parent coordinators, custody evaluators, guardians ad litem, and court involved therapists are called upon to testify in domestic relations cases. Sometimes the purpose is to enlighten on what was seen or heard by the witness. But often, the purpose is to serve as an expert and to advise the Court on what should be done on the ultimate issue whether that is parenting time, custody, or some other issue for the court to decide. In the case of a lay witness, the witness is just letting the Court know what they saw and what they heard. In the case of an expert, the witness is advising the court to decide one way or another. In either case, the witness should be prepared to testify. Here are some tips if you are called to testify.
Prepare. When called to testify, be prepared to testify as to the issues the attorneys have advised they want covered (who should have custody, etc…) Review and understand the reports or notes that have been shared with the Parties, lawyers or court. Being familiar with the case, knowing how often you met the parties or client, knowing where they are in treatment or how they have responded to suggestions for changed behavior is helpful so you can back up your position if asked to state a position.
Ask about the testifying process. Ask when you will testify. Ask whether it will be in person or virtual. If there is a conflict on time, talk to the lawyers about scheduling around your conflict. Understand that unless you are the Guardian ad Litem, it is unlikely that you will be present for any other witnesses.
Technical Language. When using language specific to your profession be ready to explain what it means in layman terms. Remember that lawyers, and judges are not experts on therapy, custody evaluations processes, or mental health diagnoses. Help them understand your testimony by keeping it simple.
Appearance. The courtroom is an professional environment and your appearance can matter. Unless it is impractical, a witness should dress in professional business attire. A court hearing is a professional engagement as much as a job interview or seminar presentation.
Testimony. Maintain poise by remaining calm, objective and courteous. Lawyers will push for a specific position, and if you won’t give it they will continue to try to move you to that position. That is their job and it is not personal even if it feels like an attack. The courtroom process is an adversarial one where each side is trying to maximize their position, and minimize the opponent’s position. The lawyers will use each witness for this purpose.
Some judges may push for a specific answer as well, because they also want an expert opinion to help them decide. However, it is important that you stay in your lane so that your opinion still carries weight. If you are asked to testify about something outside your expertise, let the Court and Parties know that you do not feel qualified to testify on that issue. That may also apply if you are asked to testify about things in your expertise but you have not done enough of the groundwork to state a position.
For counselors and therapists, it may help to review the AFCC Guide for Court Involved Therapists.
Testifying is not like having a normal conversation. It is more like answering a series of questions on an exam. Therefore, listen to the entire question before formulating an answer. A pause before answering if okay so that you can formulate your answer. Then answer the question that is asked. Do not give a detailed monologue if the question is calling for a one word answer, or yes or no. Do not exaggerate. “I do not know” or “I cannot predict” are perfectly good answers.
Above all, remember that the purpose of testifying is to help the Judge make a decision and that your job is to provide enough information for the judge to be informed. Other witnesses are helping fill in the same or other areas for the Judge as well, so you may not have the entire picture. With that said, the information you can impart is important and should be concise, clear and tailored to the question before the Court.
Christopher Barrows
Hamilton County Court Commissioner
Member Spotlight: Kathryn Kornblum-Zelle
Certified Civil Law Mediator | Family Law Practitioner
Kathryn Kornblum-Zelle of VanStone and Kornblum, LLC, is a Certified Civil Law Mediator, Certified Family Law Mediator, and family law practitioner in Evansville, Indiana. She has been tred in Collaborative Law and focuses her practice primarily on family law, estates and estate planning, and guardianships/adoptions. In 2009, Kathryn founded and serves as Executive Director for the Parenting Time Center, a non-profit supervised visitation center, focused on serving the needs of children in the Tri-state community by providing parent-child visits, safe exchange services, nurturing parenting classes, and cooperative parenting classes. In 2010, Kathryn received a Masters in Social Work degree from the University of Southern Indiana.
Member Spotlight: Bart Ferraro, Ph.D.
Thank you AFCC, Indiana, for this opportunity to serve on this board, and contribute to this great organization. From the start of my career in forensic clinical psychology, AFCC has been an instrumental source of education, training, and collegiality that I remain grateful for.
I began practicing in 1983 and in 1988, co-founded Meridian Psychological Associates, PC (MPA). At MPA, we developed a Divorce Adjustment Team of clinicians, and provided professional support and education to attorneys and mental health professionals in both civil and criminal law. We developed a comprehensive menu of consultative, evaluation and treatment services for families in transition, and initiated an innovative group treatment program for high conflict parents (Making Parents Advocates), which served the community for many years. While at MPA, I began my work in Parenting Coordination, and later as a family specialist in Collaborative Divorce. Also during these years, I served as Clinical Director at the Julian Center, a multi service agency serving the needs of victims of domestic violence. Leaving practice management but not practice, in 2023 I established Post Meridian Clinical and Forensic Psychology, PC. I continue in my fourth decade as a psychologist to enjoy the challenges this work brings and the opportunities to help families in moving forward.
Still learning how to create work life balance, I most enjoy, when not working, spending time with my wife who is also a psychologist, Janine Miller, enjoying our English bulldogs (Eddie and Olive), yoga, cooking, and listening to jazz.
