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
In real estate, the term "preamble" refers to an introductory statement that outlines the fundamental principles and goals guiding the industry's practices. Specifically, in the National ...
Transfer of both real and personal property. An example is the sale of a home with personal belongings. Putting together a group of property to be sold together, perhaps at a discount ...
Absence of a personal liability such as when a creditor may seize an office building used as security for the obligation but cannot attach any other assets of the debtor. ...
Same as term nonconforming use: Property use which is in violation of the current zoning ordinance, but had been in use prior to the zoning ordinance's enactment. A nonconforming use is ...
Provision in a lease agreement allowing the landlord to raise the rental to take into account inflation, higher upkeep costs, and higher interest rates. An index may be used such as the ...
To understand what a principal broker is, we have to go back up the family tree of real estate.You do understand all brokers can be real estate agents, but not every real estate agent can ...
An agreement specified in the lease providing the tenant the option to renew the lease for a given time period upon the expiration of the initial lease. Most lease options include the ...
Siding made out of aluminum, plastic derivates, or cement asbestos having ridges and valleys which is attached to the sides of buildings. ...
Corporation whose stockholders are taxed as partners. That is, income is taxed as direct income to the shareholders. The key advantage of this tax treatment is that shareholders escape ...

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