In family law matters where guardianship and/or the children’s living arrangements are in dispute, one or both parties may request that a person be appointed to prepare a report pursuant to section 211 of the ''[[Family Law Act]]''. That section empowers the court to direct a person approved by the court to conduct an investigation into:

Depending on the scope of the assessment, a social worker or a counselor or a psychologist may be appointed. The section 211 assessment involves the appointed person conducting interviews with both parents as well as the children and may involve additional steps such as observing each parent with the children (either in each parent’s home or at the psychologist’s office), conducting psychological testing of the parents (if the person is a psychologist and qualified to do so), conducting interviews with collateral witnesses, and then preparing a written report of the observations and opinions (if asked that an opinion be provided).

For more information on these types of reports, see the ''How Do I?'' part of this resource:

*[[How Do I Get a Needs of the Child Assessment?|How do I get a needs of the child assessment?]]

=== Consider expert evidence ===