In Jordan v. Jordan the Fifth District Court of Appeals for the State of Florida ruled that the trial court should not have required the husband to submit to a psychosexual examination where good cause was not established and there was no finding that the husband’s mental condition was properly in controversy in the divorce case. It was not enough for the trial court to state that it wanted a psychosexual evaluation so as to enable it to direct the husband’s contact and access with the children.
Further, the Court ruled that the scope of order was too broad in that it ordered husband to undergo an examination “without specifying what the examination entails in terms of, for example, “the length of the examination, the type of testing, or whether the testing is limited to ‘methods routine to the profession.’”
Where the psychosexual condition of a parent is a concern in a divorce or paternity case may be at issue, it is essential to present the right evidence to the court to request psychosexual testing to or to establish the condition at trial. It is also important that the court then clearly define the scope of any evaluation and make sufficient findings based upon the evidence presented. Failure to do so may result in a reversal of the court’s decision.