An ad litem, is generally appointed by the court, as an attorney for the minor child in contested custody/visitation proceedings. The standard which an ad litem must adhere to is what is in the "best interests of the child." In determining the "best interests" the ad litem is required to look at the relative stability of the homes of the parties, academic performance, psychological welfare, medical condition of the child and the parties, and the general overall environments that the minor child will live in, in order to aid and assist the court in it's determination of where a minor child should live. Often times, attorney ad litems, make recommendations to the attorneys involved in the case, in order to see if the parties may be able to reach an out of court settlement.