Sometimes, marriages aren’t successful and a divorce happens. When parents can’t agree on how to structure the custody of the children, a judge can order a custody evaluation to assist the court in determining the best interests of the children.

Since 2004, Dr. Alvarez has regularly conducted forensic custody and possession evaluations for Galveston, Brazoria, and Harris counties in Texas.  Dr. Alvarez recognizes that the decisions made concerning child custody and possession will affect children and families for many years and she conducts these evaluations with the utmost professionalism and competence.

Dr. Alvarez understands the legal processes involved in family law concerning divorce and modification proceedings, the accepted protocol for conducting custody evaluations, as well as the clinical and legal issues involved in evaluating one of the most difficult allegations involved in some divorce or modification cases: allegations of sexual abuse. Dr. Alvarez conducts all forensic custody and possession evaluations in an unbiased manner.

Dr. Alvarez has presented many times over the years at conferences in the area of evaluating sexual abuse allegations within the context of the current research concerning children’s memories, recall, the effects of suggestibility, and parental influence.

Conference Presentations Include:

• The Texas Psychological Association
• The Texas Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
• The Galveston County Bar Association
• The Juvenile Law Section of the Harris County Bar Association