ADLITEM

Ad litem

Ad litem is a term used in law to refer to the appointment by a court of one party to act in a lawsuit on behalf of another party—for instance, a child or an incapacitated adult—who is deemed incapable of representing him or herself. An individual who acts in this capacity is generally called a guardian ad litem; in Scotland the equivalent is a curator ad litem. This term is no longer used in England and Wales since the amendment of the Children Act 1989, which established the role of children's guardian instead. . The United States legal system, which is directly influenced by the English legal system, continues to use the terms ...

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