Ad litem: Difference between revisions

'''''Ad litem''''' ([[Latin]]: "for the suit"<ref name="Black's">Black's Law Dictionary, Abridged Eighth Edition (2005), p.&nbsp;37</ref>) 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—forparty instance,such as a child or an incapacitated adult—whoadul, who is deemed incapable of representing him or herselfhimself. An individual who acts in this capacity is generally called a '''[[Legal guardian#Guardian_ad_litem|guardian ''ad litem'']]''' in such legal proceedings; in [[Scotland]], '''[[curator ad litem|curator ''ad litem'']]''' is the equivalent term. 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. (More precisely, the term "guardian ''ad litem"'' is still used in Private Law proceedings under rule 9.5, but only herethere.) The United States legal system, which at its inception was based on the English legal system, continues to use the terms "guardian ''ad litem"''<ref>Black's Law Dictionary, Abridged Eighth Edition (2005), p.&nbsp;586</ref> and "attorney ''ad litem."''