Need to know the Ad Litem definition after coming across this weird term?
Ad litem is short for “Guardian Ad Litem” or “Attorney Ad litem”, a legal term that refers to the person appointed by the court to investigate what results would be of best interest to the child (or a grownup that is legally incapacitated of representing himself) in the lawsuit at hand. The Guardian Ad Litem (GAL), then, represents that person and fights for that outcome.
The most common use for it is in divorce lawsuits. But in Real Estate it can also have many uses:
- Say a kid becomes an orphan – a GAL will be appointed to act on his or her behalf in court regarding the kid’s rights to inheritance.
- If a situation arises for a non-verbal person with special needs and no relatives that leads to a Homes for the disabled lawsuit, the court will also appoint a GAL.
- It can even be used in a property litigation: to act on behalf of an estate if the owners are unavailable or unwilling to do so.
Lastly, in case you’re wondering: The root of the Ad Litem definition comes from Latin. The word Ad Litem means “for the suit”, or “for the proceeding”.
Have a Real Estate Agent as your guardian, protecting your best interests at all times!
Popular Real Estate Terms
Many homebuyers or real estate investors only think of mortgages when it comes to financial aid in real estate purchasing. Lately, with the increasing desire of homebuyers to not be ...
The deposit given by a buyer of property is delivered to the escrow agent, who retains it for the seller. ...
Generally speaking, a moratorium covers a provisional or limited activity suspension. Temporary financial troubles or funding constraints can trigger issuing a lull. This postponement lasts ...
Limited period of time granted by state law to an individual who has had his or her property foreclosed on and sold to regain possession of the property by repaying the debt that was ...
If “image is everything”, then home staging is the most important and effective process in a real estate sale. But what is home staging? Well, when real estate agents are ...
Six-mile-wide column of land running north-south in rectangular survey system ...
A lien that makes property security for the repayment of debt. Mortgages can finance the acquisition of real estate such as a home. A mortgage has certain benefits compared to other debt ...
The company is not responsible to a third party if an account or financial instrument is dishonored by the debtor. The creditor's recourse is solely to the debtor's property. An example is ...
Penalty charge in order to cure a previous wrong. ...

Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.