When a divorcing couple can't agree on child custody, judges often appoint a guardian to evaluate the parents and homes, interview the children if they're old enough, then make recommendations based on the children's best interests. When they do their jobs well, guardians can be invaluable advocates for children torn between warring parents. When they don't, families have little recourse, said Bruce Blandin, a Bedford father of two who tried to get a guardian removed from his divorce for failing, in his view, to do what the judge had ordered. "The court refused," said Blandin, who has collected similar complaints from other parents. "When I went to look at the regulations, there basically weren't any. When I went to complain, (the courts) didn't do anything." Right now, the state's guardian system is a confusing hodgepodge of conflicting court rules, guidelines and laws.