Length of Service

• GALs are usually not limited to taking one case at a time, because rarely are there enough attorneys available to accommodate every case that needs them. A GAL might juggle several cases at once, because there are more children in the court system than attorneys willing to help them. The salary is usually negligible, and a custody case can linger on for months. A GAL's participation usually involves a comprehensive assessment of the family involved, then making a custody recommendation to the court. This might involve several meetings with the parents and the children, plus court appearances and a variety of filed reports.
  
  

Flat Fees

• Many state governments set very nominal fees for GALs so most families can afford them. It's a precaution against parents' budgets shortchanging their children's best interests, because the fees are generally paid by the parents. Shelby County, Indiana, allows GALs a flat fee of $400 for a custody evaluation, with each parent paying half of that. If the case requires more than just a single evaluation, the GAL is paid $150 per month on an ongoing basis. In New Hampshire, the flat fee for a GAL is $1,000, and the state allows attorneys to file a motion with the court, asking for more, in very contentious or involved cases.
  
  

Hourly Fees

• Other states, such as Georgia, allow GALs to charge parents their regular hourly rate, whatever they charge other clients in the course of their private practices. According to Bankrate.com, lawyers in the United States might charge anywhere from $75 per hour to $450 per hour. Attorneys' hourly rates usually depend on their expertise, their track record in winning big cases and their years of experience in their chosen area of law.
  
  

Volunteers

• Courts generally do not use volunteer GALs in custody cases. South Carolina provides a comprehensive training program for nonlawyer GALs, but limits their services to child neglect or abuse cases, which generally focus on safeguarding the children involved, but nothing in the way of legal representation.
  
  

Overall Income

• Most attorneys have regular practices and devote only a percentage of their overall time to GAL work, even though they might be handling several cases at a time. If an attorney in New Hampshire handles 20 cases a year, or five every three months, he would add an additional $20,000 to his yearly salary if he did not petition the court for more money on any of them. At Indiana's rate, he would earn only approximately $8,000 for the year, handling the same number of cases, unless those cases took an inordinate amount of time. Most of a GAL's income derives from his private law practice not his services as a guardian ad litem.