Teachers and nursery staff as witnesses
A teacher or member of nursery staff can be a highly relevant witness if they have actually observed how the child manages in everyday life. Your questions should then focus on the child’s wellbeing, attendance, concentration, changes in behaviour and whether the child appears to be affected by the conflict between the parents.
It may be relevant to ask whether the child has been upset, anxious, tired or absent, or has expressed concern about collections, drop-offs or contact with a parent. It may also be important to ask which parent usually communicates with the school, attends meetings and follows up on homework or additional support, and whether the school has noticed any difference in the child’s wellbeing after stays with each parent.
These questions are relevant because they do not simply describe the parents: they show how the child is actually affected in everyday life.
Support workers and contact support workers
A designated support worker, a contact support worker who assists during visits between a child and a parent, or another professional who has attended contact sessions can often be particularly important. Your questions can focus on how the child reacts before, during and after contact.
Does the child appear secure? Does the child seek interaction with the parent? Is there warmth, responsiveness and positive interaction? Or is there anxiety, pressure, conflict or situations in which the child becomes tense and withdrawn?
It may also be relevant to ask whether the parent arrives on time, honours agreements, respects the child’s signals and can adapt to the child’s needs. In custody proceedings, what often proves decisive is not what a parent says about their relationship with the child, but how that relationship actually works in specific situations.
Relatives’ own observations
Relatives can also give evidence, but you need to be careful here. The court recognises that relatives are often close to one of the parties and may therefore be seen as less impartial. This does not mean that their evidence has no value, but your questions should be specific and linked to things they have observed themselves.
A relative should not primarily be called to say that one parent is a bad parent. It is more relevant to ask what they have personally observed about the child’s sense of security, everyday life, relationships with the parents, the level of conflict, handovers or the child’s reactions. The more specific the witness can be, the greater the value of their evidence.
Witnesses from child and adolescent mental health services, social services and healthcare
Professionals from BUP (Sweden’s child and adolescent mental health services), social services or healthcare may also be relevant witnesses if they have specific knowledge of the child or family. Your questions can focus on the child’s mental wellbeing, any anxiety, support needs, how the child has described their situation and whether there are signs of stress, divided loyalties or other pressures. The court must ensure that these matters are sufficiently investigated.
What does the court need to understand about the child?
As a lawyer at a law firm, you do not approach witness evidence by asking, “Who can say something good about my client?” Instead, you start with the question: what does the court need to understand about the child? You then select witnesses who can contribute relevant, independent and specific information.
A strong witness is not necessarily the person who speaks most emotionally, but the person who can describe their actual observations clearly and credibly.
Relevant questions in custody proceedings
Relevant questions in custody proceedings often centre on the child’s stability, sense of security, relationships and the impact of the conflict. You will want to establish:
- How the child manages in everyday life and whether there have been changes over time.
- Whether the child shows signs of anxiety or stress.
- How handovers work.
- How the parents communicate about the child.
- Whether either parent appears to support or hinder the child’s relationship with the other parent.
- Whether the child appears to be carrying the burden of the adults’ conflict.
- Whether the child expresses guilt or fear.
- Whether the child uses language suggesting that they have been influenced.
General opinions rarely help the court
By contrast, general opinions, rumours or emotionally driven statements of support rarely make useful witness evidence. Someone who simply says “she is a wonderful mother” or “he is a bad father” rarely gives the court much help.
The court needs specific information that can be linked to the child’s best interests. Because the child’s best interests must be the determining factor in all matters of custody, residence and contact, questions put to witnesses are most effective when they reveal how the child actually feels and manages in everyday life.
Questioning witnesses should help the court see the child
In practice, questioning witnesses in custody proceedings is therefore highly strategic. It should not be used to intensify the conflict between the adults. It should be used to help the court see the child more clearly. That is the difference between weak and strong evidence in a custody dispute.