PSYCHIATRIC EXPERTISE IN CHILD-CUSTODY AN D VISITATION LITIGATION

Mental disorders of parents are most important in child custody and vi sitation litigation because their educational competency might be affe cted. Therefore, psychiatrists often testify as forensic experts in su ch law-suits. However, the assessment of the educational competency of the intrafamiliar relations and of the mental disorders of the childr en is the task of a child-and adolescent psychiatrist. Forensic expert ises should be completed by both a general and a child-and adolescent psychiatrist.