David Goldberg: Polygraphs and False Allegations in Custody

A liar is a liar today, tomorrow, and twenty years from now, David Goldberg says, and so is someone telling the truth. That is his argument against rushing to book the fastest, cheapest examiner you can find when a false allegation has just upended your custody case.

David Goldberg is a state-licensed, advanced board-certified polygraph examiner. He spent his early career in law enforcement, and in the roughly 25 years since he has run more than 20,000 examinations for people who were never arrested or charged: parents accused in custody disputes, people facing rumors or workplace accusations, students, and adults trying to confirm something they remember from childhood. He describes himself and Lisa as being in the same line of work in one respect, which is that people arrive at both of their doors in a state of panic.

The conversation opens on that panic, because David treats settling someone down as part of the job rather than a courtesy. He books one client a day and gives that person as long as it takes, on the reasoning that a rushed intake produces badly formed questions. He then walks Lisa through the sequence for a parent whose children have been removed on an allegation: the intake, questions built both around what you say happened and around what the other side is claiming, the verbal result the same day, and a detailed written report inside 24 hours.

They cover what a parent can and cannot make happen. You cannot compel your ex to test. A court can order one, and therapists and evaluators sometimes request one. David also talks about what the waiting costs while a case sits, in terms of contact with your children and the relationship you then have to rebuild.

The last part is the part people argue about. David names three reasons someone fails, and says the frequent one is withholding information rather than deception. He explains how to vet an examiner, why an examiner experienced only in pre-employment screening is the wrong choice for a custody or abuse allegation, and where to check credentials. On admissibility he is precise: the charts do not come in, the report can where a judge allows it, and he has had cases dropped by an agency before a courtroom was ever involved. He closes on what he sees when he tells someone they passed.

As always, this is strategic education, not legal or mental-health advice for your specific situation.

🎓 What you'll learn

• What a polygraph can realistically do for a falsely accused parent
• Why an examiner should settle you down before testing, and why that does not skew results
• The sequence: intake, pre-test interview, same-day verbal result, written report
• Why the report is written in detail rather than as a pass-or-fail page
• Whether you can make your ex take one, and when a court can order it
• The three reasons David says people fail, and why holding back is the common one
• How to choose an examiner, and why to avoid referral services
• What is admissible: the report versus the charts, and the cases that end before court

⏱️ Chapters
0:00 Intro
1:00 Calming down before you test
3:00 David's background, and the range of issues he tests for
9:00 Falsely accused in a custody case: the process step by step
13:00 The verbal result, then the detailed written report
15:00 Can you make your ex take one? Can a court order it?
17:00 What the waiting costs you and your children
19:00 The three reasons people fail a polygraph
23:00 Choosing an examiner, and the shortcuts to avoid
25:00 Admissibility, and using a result outside the courtroom
33:00 What closure actually looks like

Keep going 💜
Book a free 30-minute discovery call and we'll help you map your next steps: https://beentheregotout.com/call
📘 Been There Got Out: Toxic Relationships, High-Conflict Divorce, and How to Stay Sane Under Insane Circumstances — https://www.amazon.com/dp/194627495X
📘 Been There Got Out: When Your Ex Turns the Kids Against You (our parental-alienation book) — https://www.amazon.com/dp/1967674183
🔗 David Goldberg, Executive Protection Group: https://www.executiveprotectiongrp.com/

About Been There Got Out
Chris Barry and Lisa Johnson are high-conflict divorce, custody, and co-parenting strategists, and the founders of Been There Got Out. They know these cases from the inside: both have successfully represented themselves in family court. Few attorneys have a playbook for a case like this — Chris and Lisa write yours with you, so you and your kids can get through it as unscathed as possible.