Rule 5:3-3.Appointment of Experts

Last amended September 1, 2004 · Current through September 1, 2026 · Last verified September 8, 2026

In one sentenceRule 5:3-3 lets the court appoint its own medical, mental health, social or economic experts, sets the ground rules for how they investigate and communicate with the court, and denies their reports any presumption of correctness.

Full Text of Rule 5:3-3

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i)

(a) Medical, Mental Health, and Social Experts. Whenever the court, in its discretion, concludes that disposition of an issue will be assisted by expert opinion, and whether or not the parties propose to offer or have offered their own experts' opinions, the court may order any person under its jurisdiction to be examined by a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist or other health or mental health professional designated by it. No such appointment, however, shall be made of an expert who is providing or has provided therapy to any member of that person's family. The court may also require a social investigation by a probation officer or other person at any time during the proceeding before it.

(b) Custody/Parenting Disputes. Mental health experts who perform parenting/custody evaluations shall conduct strictly nonpartisan evaluations to arrive at their view of the child's best interests, regardless of who engages them. They should consider and include reference to criteria set forth in N.J.S.A. 9:2-4, as well as any other information or factors they believe pertinent to each case.

(c) Economic Experts. Whenever the court concludes that disposition of an economic issue will be assisted by expert opinion, it may in the same manner as provided in Paragraph (a) of this rule appoint an expert to appraise the value of any property or to report and recommend as to any other issue, and may further order any person or entity to produce documents or to make available for inspection any information or property, which is not privileged, that the court determines is necessary to aid the expert in rendering an opinion.

(d) Selection of Experts. Experts appointed hereunder may be selected by the mutual agreement of the parties or independently by the court. The court shall establish the scope of the expert's assignment in the order of appointment. Neither party shall be bound by the report of the expert so appointed.

(e) Investigation by Experts. Any expert appointed by the court shall be permitted to conduct an investigation independently to obtain information reasonable and necessary to complete his or her report from any source, and may make contact directly with any party from whom information is sought within the scope of the order of appointment. The parties shall be entitled to have their attorneys and/or experts present during any examination by a court appointed expert. The expert shall not communicate with the court except upon prior notice to the parties and their attorneys who shall be afforded an opportunity to be present and to be heard during any such communication between the expert and the court. A request for communication with the court may be informally conveyed by the expert by letter or telephonic means, where after further communications with the court, which may be conducted informally by conference or conference call, shall be done only with the participation of the parties and their counsel.

(f) Submission of Report. Any finding or report by an expert appointed by the court shall be submitted upon completion to both the court and the parties. At the time of submission of the court's experts' reports, the reports of any other expert may be submitted by either party to the court and the other parties. The parties shall thereafter be permitted a reasonable opportunity to conduct discovery in regard thereto, including, but not limited to, the right to take the deposition of the expert.

(g) Use of Evidence. An expert appointed by the court shall be subject to the same examination as a privately retained expert and the court shall not entertain any presumption in favor of the appointed expert's findings. Any finding or report by an expert appointed by the court may be entered into evidence upon the court's own motion or the motion of any party in a manner consistent with the rules of evidence, subject to cross-examination by the parties.

(h) Use of Private Experts. Nothing in this rule shall be construed to preclude the parties from retaining their own experts, either before or after the appointment of an expert by the court, on the same or similar issues.

(i) Payment; Costs. When the court appoints a medical, mental health, or social expert pursuant to R. 5:3-3(a), an economic expert pursuant to R.5:3-3(b), or should the parties agree on the selection of an expert consistent with R.5:3-3(c), the court may direct who shall pay the cost of such examination, appraisal, or report.

End

Amendment History

New Jersey publishes each rule’s amendment record in a “Note” beneath the rule. It is reproduced verbatim below; a “Source” line names the former rule the current one grew out of, and “R. (1969)” citations refer to the earlier numbering it replaced.

Note: Source --R. (1969) 5:3-5, 5:3-6. Adopted December 20, 1983, to be effective December 31, 1983; caption amended, former rule redesignated paragraph (a) and paragraph (b)(1), (2), (3), (4) and (5) adopted November 7, 1988 to be effective January 2, 1989; former paragraphs (b)(1), (2), (3), (4), and (5) captioned and redesignated as (c), (d), (e), (f) and (g) respectively June 29, 1990 to be effective September 4, 1990; paragraph (a) amended January 21, 1999 to be effective April 5, 1999; paragraph (a) caption and text amended, new paragraph (b) adopted, former paragraph (b) amended and redesignated as paragraph (c), former paragraphs (c) and (d) redesignated as paragraphs (d) and (e), former paragraph (e) amended and redesignated as paragraph (f), former paragraph (f) redesignated as paragraph (g), former paragraph (g) amended and redesignated as paragraph (h), and new paragraph (i) adopted July 28, 2004 to be effective September 1, 2004.

Plain-English Summary

The court can appoint an expert whether or not the parties have their own. It may order a person under its jurisdiction examined by a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist or other health professional, order a social investigation, or appoint an economic expert to value property or report on another issue. One appointment is forbidden outright: an expert who is providing or has provided therapy to a member of the person's family.

Custody evaluators are told what to do. They must evaluate on a strictly nonpartisan basis to reach their own view of the child's best interests, whoever engaged them, and must consider the statutory custody factors along with anything else they think pertinent.

The communication rules are the heart of the rule. A court-appointed expert may investigate independently and contact parties directly within the scope of the appointment, and the parties may have their attorneys or their own experts present at any examination. But the expert may not communicate with the court without prior notice to the parties and their attorneys, who must have the chance to be present and heard. Reports go to the court and the parties together, discovery follows including depositions, and the appointed expert is examined like any retained one — the court entertains no presumption in favor of the appointed expert's findings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a court-appointed expert's report binding?

No. The rule says neither party is bound by the report, and that the court shall not entertain any presumption in favor of the appointed expert's findings.

Can the expert talk to the judge privately?

No. The expert may not communicate with the court except on prior notice to the parties and their attorneys, who must be given an opportunity to be present and heard during the communication.

Can I have my attorney present when my family is evaluated?

Yes. The parties are entitled to have their attorneys and their own experts present during any examination by a court-appointed expert.

Can a therapist be appointed as the evaluator?

Not one who is treating the family. The rule bars appointment of an expert who is providing or has provided therapy to any member of that person's family.

Source & verification. The rule text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the official New Jersey Rules of Court, Part V (N.J. Ct. R. 5:3-3). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified September 8, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: custody evaluationcourt appointed expertbest interests evaluationforensic evaluationappraisersocial investigation