Reviews

You want to take extreme caution if you're assigned Daniel Chester (aka Daniel Keith Chester) as a Child Custody Recommending Counselor through the Sonoma County (California) Family Court. This man is very dangerous to families. He has no background in psychology and yet he issues assessments of parents for purposes of judges determining their child custody worthiness using a variety of Clinical Psychology determinants. He will attempt to get you to sign papers that will give him unlimited access to third parties (like, for example, therapists) and will ultimately determine that you need a psychological evaluation while steering you to two specific psychologists to execute the evaluations. This is an open kickback. In 2015 through the present (it's currently 2021), more than 135 parents have confirmed that he has applied his armchair psychological assessments and has pointed parents to these two therapists with each case. This man should not be trusted. He has a battery of complaints against him including a portfolio of complaints currently before the CA State Bar. Do yourself a favor: DO NOT ALLOW DANIEL CHESTER TO EVALUATE YOUR SUITABILITY FOR PARENTING YOUR CHILD. You have the right to request alternative evaluators. There are currently three to choose from. You also have the right to not attend a pre-hearing meeting with Family Court Services. THIS IS YOUR RIGHT. EXERCISE IT. This man is a train wreck.

My research and interviews with Family Law attorneys and Family Law facilitators here in Sonoma County indicate Mr. Dan Chester is associated with creating the "Court-Involved Therapist Referral List (CIT)" deemed to constitute a lack of the required judicial neutrality of the Court by his immediate supervisor. One of the service providers on the CIT list is a three-time convicted felon legally defined as morally depraved who makes his living testifying on behalf of murderers and child molesters. It is my understanding that Dan Chester was making direct referrals to this individual before the State of California came in and told the County Superior Court's Family Court Services to stop making direct referrals. Now this CIT list is sponsored by the Sonoma County Bar Association's Family Law Steering Committee. In my case, Dan Chester recommended to the court that my ex wife and I continue seeing service providers on this CIT list "for the duration and frequency determined by the counselors," - an open checkbook!! Forewarned is fore-armed, this individual is in a position to financially burden you until your child turns eighteen. Of fundamental importance to his impropriety in my case, he fails to cite the specific reasoning for his recommendations, in direct violation of the Elkins Family Law Task Force recommendations. Dan Chester told me "you are going to be sorely disappointed if you think you are ever going to get 50/50 custody," without providing reasoning for his threat. BTW, I have achieved 50/50 custody, you can too. My recommendation is that you ask for a different child custody recommending counselor, in order to avoid Dan Chester's well-established history of collaboration with a convicted felon and his willingness to recommend to the court that you open your checkbook forever to therapists with whom he has prior dealings. In my opinion, Dan Chester is more interested in financially benefiting service providers on the CIT list rather than seeking the best interest of children.