In a family case, who may commission a family court investigator to investigate the facts, and who sets how that investigation is carried out?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In practice material of this kind, we look for the order directing the investigation to see which of the named figures gave it, the investigator's report on the facts found, and any Supreme Court rule cited for the method and procedure followed.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading takes the list of authors exhaustively: only the presiding judge, the mediation chair, or the judge in charge of mediation may order a family court investigator to investigate facts, so an investigation carried out without such an order does not fit the provision.
Another reading turns on the second part, which leaves the methods and procedure of the fact investigation to Supreme Court rules, so the provision itself does not say what the investigation must cover, how it is to be conducted, or what form the findings must take.
Your judgment
If the file does not show which of the three figures directed the investigation, what in the record could identify who gave the order?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to add or remove who may order the investigation, or if a new Supreme Court rule on the methods and procedure of the fact investigation is issued.