Rule 35 Exam

Rule 35 of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure is often underutilized in custody cases.  One of the leading causes of divorce is serious mental illness along with addiction issues.  Perhaps the main reason it is not used is cost.  A trained psychologist or counselor can easily run a few thousand dollars.  Additionally, many insurances will not cover any form of counseling or examination that is ordered by the court.  As such, you may inadvertently void coverage if the insurance company sees it is in a court order.  This may be a situation where agreement of both counsel to do an evaluation without a court order can be helpful.