How to start the child custody process

What you can file to ask for a child custody and visitation order | California Courts

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There are different types of cases and papers you can file to ask for a child custody and visitation (parenting time) order. Which type of case or papers you can file depends on your situation, like whether you and the other parent are married or you already filed a family law case.

If you have a family law case, you can file a 

If there's already a family law case involving the child in California, then you can file a Request for Order (form FL-300) to ask the judge to make or change an order in that case about child custody and visitation (parenting time). Common family law cases are divorces or parentage (paternity) cases. 

If you and the other parent agree about what orders you want, you can also ask the judge to make your agreement an order.

Generally, if there is a case in another State about custody of the child, you will need to file papers in that State to ask for custody orders. Talk to your court's Self-Help Center staff to find out your options, or talk to a lawyer for advice.

How to Request an Order

If you do not have a family law case, you need to start one to ask for custody and visitation (parenting time) orders

You first need to start a family law case (like a divorce between you and the other parent or a parentage case). Then, you can ask in that case for child custody and visitation orders. Which type of case you start depends on your situation. 

Typically, the child will need to have lived in California for the past 6 months (unless they are less than 6 months old) in order for a California judge to make a decision about custody. If the child has been living in another State for the past 6 months, then often you need to file a case where the child lives now. Ask your court's Self-Help Center staff or get legal advice if you aren't sure if California is the right state to file in.

Figure out what case you can file

If you and the other person . . .	You can file a . . .
Are married or in a domestic partnership and want to divorce or legally separate	Petition for divorce or legal separation
Are married or in a domestic partnership and do not want to divorce or legally separate	Petition for Custody and Support
Are not married or in a domestic partnership and you are not both the child's legal parent	Petition to Determine Parentage
Are not married or in a domestic partnership, but are both the child's legal parent (for example, you both signed a Voluntary Declaration of Parentage or legally adopted the child)	Petition for Custody and Support -or- Petition to Determine Parentage
Have a child together and you need protection from the other parent	Request for a Domestic Violence Restraining Order

If you are not the child's parent but want custody of the child because the parents are not able to care for the child, find out more about guardianships. This is when the court orders someone other than a child's parent to have custody of the child. 

8 Steps to Final Orders

Litigating custody of a child in California consists of eight main steps. Some may be skipped or rearranged and others added, depending on your circumstances and county.

At any point, parents can agree on a plan and have a judge sign it. Then the custody process jumps to Step 8.

Private mediation, collaborative law and other alternative methods for deciding custody follow their own processes.

Bring calm to co‑parenting. Agree on a schedule and plan. Be prepared with everything documented.

Make My California Plan Now

Step 1: Preparation

Do your research and consider your options. Will you request sole or joint physical custody? What about legal custody? What does your ideal parenting schedule look like? Then, meet with a lawyer to come up with a legal strategy. Attorney representation is strongly recommended, but if you're not able to hire someone, you should at least do a free or low-cost consultation to hear the thoughts of a professional.

Step 2: Filing

Before you can request custody, you must open a family law case with your county's superior court; this can be a divorce, a request for a domestic violence restraining order, a paternity case or a custody case. Then you file a request for a custody order, which can be done by either parent. Once the other parent has been served with a copy of your court papers, they can file a response.

Possible: Emergency custody hearing

If a child is at risk of being harmed or removed from the state within the next few days, a parent can request an expedited hearing to determine if emergency temporary orders are necessary (also called ex parte orders). If a judge issues emergency orders, they stay in effect until the next hearing, when they can be terminated, replaced by temporary orders or extended.

Step 3: Orientation

Many counties in California require parents to complete a short orientation at the start of their custody-related case. Often times, it can be done online, such as in Los Angeles, Santa Clara and Napa counties. If your county doesn't require orientation, the video introduction to child custody mediation from California Courts can help you prepare for your next step.

Step 4: Court-ordered mediation

Parents are required by law to attend mediation before having a judge decide their custody or visitation arrangement. They will meet for free with a court-employed mediator for up to several hours, and lawyers will not be present.

The goal of mediation is to develop a detailed parenting plan the parents both support, which can be signed by a judge to become a final order. If mandatory mediation does not result in total agreement, some counties' mediators give recommendations to the court. In other counties, mediators simply report that an agreement was not reached.

Remember that anytime parents are able to agree on a parenting plan ― through mediation, informal negotiation or otherwise ― a judge can sign it, and the custody process jumps to Step 8.

Step 5: Hearing

If mediation did not result in a parenting agreement, it will be followed by a hearing. This is generally the first time the parties meet with a judge, though some counties require an initial hearing before court-ordered mediation.

After reviewing the facts of your case, the judge will do one or more of the following:

• Order a child custody evaluation if they want a mental health professional to weigh in
• Appoint child's counsel if they believe the child needs a lawyer
• Give temporary custody orders if the parties can't agree on a parenting arrangement for the duration of the custody proceedings
• Order another hearing or a trial

Hearings are opportunities for you to briefly present your argument and evidence to the judge so he or she can determine next steps. The parents and their lawyers typically all speak.

You may have as few as one hearing or as many as 10 hearings throughout your case, depending on your family's circumstances.

Step 6: Conferences

Conferences are essentially meetings with the judge, and they generally happen in the judge's chambers. Many times, parents who have lawyers send the lawyers in their places.

Different counties use different types of conferences.

A pretrial conference or trial setting conference makes sure both parents are ready for trial, estimates how long the trial is likely to take, sets ground rules and more.

In a settlement conference, the parents again come together to try to find common ground and avoid a trial. This time, the judge guides the parents toward a solution. Some counties do not require or offer this step, while others use multiple settlement conferences.

Step 7: Trial

If parents are unable to settle, they will ultimately end up in trial.

A trial is like an extended, more formal version of a hearing. Both parents get to present evidence and question witnesses in front of the judge so he or she can issue a ruling.

A trial can last hours, days, weeks or, in extremely complicated cases, months. Often there's a significant waiting period between the last hearing and the trial because court calendars fill up and lawyers need time to gather evidence.

At the end of the trial, the judge will announce their decision. Once signed, it is known as a final custody order.

Step 8: Final custody orders

To bring the custody process to a close, a judge will sign a final custody order. It lays out, in the form of a parenting plan, the legal terms all parties must abide by until each child involved turns 18 or is emancipated. The details are decided either by a judge after a trial or by the parents themselves, with the judge signing off.

If a parent has reason to contest a court's decision, they can appeal to a higher court and begin the legal process again. They can also file a motion to cancel the court order.

As children grow older and their lifestyles change, orders often need to be modified several times. Parents can develop a new parenting plan together or one can request that the court modify the existing plan.

If the other parent doesn't follow a court order, you should keep detailed notes of the violations. For serious or repeat violations, you can contact police or file for contempt with the court.

Throughout your case

During the custody process, you may need to create a parenting plan, draft custody schedules, track your time with your child, keep a log about interactions with the other parent, and more.

The Custody X Change app enables you to do all of this in one place.

With a parenting plan template, custody calendars, a digital journal and beyond, Custody X Change makes sure you're prepared for whatever arises in your journey to child custody.

Throughout your case, take advantage of our technology to stay on top of all the moving parts.

Bring calm to co‑parenting. Agree on a schedule and plan. Be prepared with everything documented.

Make My California Plan Now

Bring calm to co‑parenting. Agree on a schedule and plan. Be prepared with everything documented.

How to take a child into custody in 2023: how to get guardianship

Lada Pozdeeva

talked to her mother-in-law about guardianship

Author profile

She became his guardian.

I learned from Svetlana how to take a child into custody, what is needed for this and what payments a guardian can receive from the state.

You will know

• How Svetlana made the decision
• What is custody
• The differences between guardianship and adoption
• School of adoptive parents
• Documents
• Housing Preparation
• Treaty with guardianship bodies
• Costs
• difficult. Psychological aspects of guardianship

How Svetlana made the decision

My mother-in-law has three daughters and one son. The children are already adults, and she rarely sees them. She meets with some of them only once a year.

In 2012, Svetlana realized that her youngest daughter would also soon graduate from school and go to study in Syktyvkar. And it is 730 kilometers from their village.

At that time, my mother-in-law was 50 years old, and she did not want to stay with her common-law husband without children. It seemed to her that the big village house would be empty and lonely without them. For her, this was a reason to take a six-year-old boy from an orphanage under guardianship. The civil husband supported her.

By law, guardianship is an arrangement for a family of children under 14 years of age. Guardians appointed by the guardianship and guardianship authorities are considered the legal representatives of the wards and act on their behalf and in their interests.

paragraph 1 of Art. 2 of the Federal Law "On guardianship and guardianship"

Guardianship is not adoption. They differ in their essence, in documents, in the form of state control and in the amount of payments.

Adoption is the adoption of a child into a family as a son or daughter. It entails irreversible legal consequences. For example, an adopted child is equated in property rights with a native: after the death of an adoptive parent, adopted children are considered heirs of the first stage. A child under guardianship does not have such rights.

Art. 137, 138 SK RF

Art. 1147 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation

Svetlana did not consider adoption, because she understood that relations with a child from an orphanage might not work out.

Differences between guardianship and adoption

Paperwork. Fewer certificates are required to take a child into custody than to adopt one. For the mother-in-law, this also played an important role. She works as a social work specialist and initially understood that it was easier to get custody of a child than to collect documents for adoption.

Memo for candidates for adoptive parents

State control form. Social security checks come to the guardian more often than to the adoptive parent. For some people, this can cause psychological discomfort.

Amount of lump-sum payments. If a person adopts a child, he is entitled to a one-time payment from the region: 200,000 R for a healthy child and 250,000 R for a child with physical disabilities. These amounts of payments are valid in the Komi Republic. The adoptive parent also receives a one-time allowance - 22 909 R.

Law of the Republic of Komi on state support when transferring a child to a family

Benefits and payments to citizens with children

art. 12.2 of the Federal Law "On state benefits to citizens with children"

The guardian is not given such large amounts. He receives only an allowance - 22,909 R. Regions have the right to establish their own additional one-time payments, their amounts may vary.

Foster Parent School

The prospective guardian must be trained at a foster parent school and receive a course completion certificate.

While studying, future adoptive parents and guardians get acquainted with the regulations in the field of guardianship, as well as with the amounts of payments and benefits. Guardianship specialists psychologically prepare people for someone else's child in the family and discuss with them stressful situations that may arise.

Order of the Ministry of Education and Science on approval of the training program for guardians and foster parents

During the courses, future guardians are given tests, memos and information leaflets with tips on raising children and helpline numbers - the guardian can call there in emergency situations.

The guardianship authorities can meet the candidate halfway and allow him to study after he takes the child into custody. And some caregivers take these courses two or three times to learn how to get along with the child.

Documents

The future guardian must submit a package of documents to the guardianship department at the place of residence:

1. Application for the desire to become a guardian.
2. Certificate of no criminal record.
3. Certificate of employment indicating the average salary or certificate of employment of the spouse of the person who has decided to become a guardian. You can also submit another document that confirms the income of the candidate or his spouse.
4. A copy of the marriage certificate, if the guardian is one.
5. Consent of adult family members to accept a child into the family.
6. A copy of the guardian training certificate.
7. Autobiography.
8. Conclusion on the results of a medical examination.

clause 4 of the Rules for the selection of guardians

Application form of consent of adult family members living together to accept a child into the familyPDF, 212 KB

The candidate for guardianship will have to check whether he has any medical conditions that may prevent him from taking the child into care. For example, these include mental disorders and alcohol addiction. People with disabilities of the first group cannot take a child under guardianship.

List of diseases that may prevent you from becoming a guardian

All documents must be up to date. A certificate from the place of work is valid for a year, a health certificate - for 6 months.

Svetlana believes that her pedagogical education helped her to pass the selection process and become a guardian. She told about him in her autobiography. In the same place, she wrote that the common-law husband had been a cross-country skiing coach for many years and worked with children.

The guardianship authorities also asked Svetlana for a reference from work, although this document is not specified in the law. It was not difficult for Svetlana to obtain all these certificates, extracts and certificates. Instead of copies, you can bring original documents to the guardianship authorities. Specialists will make copies themselves.

Documents can be submitted via the Internet: on the website of public services or on the official website of the guardianship and guardianship authorities in your region. You can also do it at the nearest MFC.

clause 5 of the Rules for the selection of guardians

Guardianship authorities will verify the information within two business days from the date of submission of the application and documents.

Art. 146 SK RF

Preparation of housing

Having submitted documents to the guardianship authorities, the future guardian must prepare housing for inspection by specialists. Within three working days after the authorities confirm the information provided by the candidate, they will check the living conditions and draw up a special survey report.

clause 8 of the Rules for the selection of guardians

The guardian's house should be clean, a corner and a sleeping place should be equipped for the child, and toys should be bought. During the visit, specialists from the guardianship authorities will ask about the relationship between family members.

In some cases, guardianship officials may not inspect the candidate's house - for example, if a person has a positive reference from work.

When the act of examining housing conditions is ready, the guardianship authorities must make a decision on the candidate for guardians within 10 working days.

If the decision is positive, specialists will issue a conclusion on the person's ability to be a guardian - it is valid for two years.

paras. 9 and 11 of the Rules for the selection of guardians

Choice of the child

After receiving the opinion, the future guardian must select the child he wants to take into the family. First you need to decide on the age and gender, and then get to know the child in order to understand whether the guardian and the child can live together.

You can find a child in an orphanage or on special websites, such as "Orphans" or "Adoption in Russia".

About the database of children left without parental care

The Adoption in Russia website is a project of the Ministry of Education and one of the main resources for finding a child. There you can choose a ward or ward of a certain age. The site has a search for different regions.

More information about children who can be taken into the family is published by foundations and news sites. Each region has its own information sources where data on children left without parental care are posted.

Svetlana met the child in the office of the guardianship authority. She took a liking to the boy right away. With the consent of the guardianship specialists, she took him for the weekend. Since then, the child began to live with Svetlana, she decided not to give him away.

Svetlana immediately noticed that the boy is often overexcited. She believed that this was due to his difficult fate. The child also had psychological trauma and poor eyesight. This did not frighten the mother-in-law: she already had experience in raising difficult children.

Having taken the boy from the orphanage, Svetlana understood that she would have to take him to the republican hospital and bear the costs of treatment. But this is the choice of the mother-in-law - healthy children also live in shelters.

Agreement with guardianship authorities

Such an agreement is concluded if necessary, if it is in the interests of the ward. Child custody is by default free of charge. The guardian receives only child benefits, which he is obliged to spend strictly on the child. The amount of the allowance is established by regional legislation. But a guardian or candidate for guardianship may conclude an agreement with the guardianship authorities on the performance of all duties for a fee and receive additional cash payments. To do this, you need to write a special application.

Art. 16 FZ "On guardianship and guardianship"

Sample agreement on a foster familyPDF, 98 KB

If you sign such an agreement, the guardian will be paid a fee for raising the child. There is no need to report to the state for this money. Svetlana is also a contractual guardian.

clause 9 of the Rules for the selection of guardians

After collecting all the documents, submitting applications and choosing a child, specialists from the guardianship authorities draw up an act on the appointment of a person as a guardian.

Costs of care

The activities of the guardian and the quality of life of the child are constantly monitored by the guardianship and guardianship authorities. Svetlana lives in the Ust-Tsilemsky district of the Komi Republic and, as a guardian, is attached to the local center for social protection. Once every six months, she receives checks from the guardianship authorities. Specialists look at the appearance of the ward, whether he has clothes and shoes for the season. They also ask the guardian about how the child communicates with peers, with family members.

Art. 24 of the Federal Law "On guardianship and guardianship"

Specialists also control the conditions in which the child grows up. In order to maintain the conditions of his life at the proper level, constant costs are needed to update repairs, purchase books, toys.

The child must live with a guardian

By law, the guardian and the child must live together. Separation is allowed only when the child is 16 years old. This is possible only with the consent of social workers.

st. 36 Civil Code of the Russian Federation

Guardians must notify the guardianship authorities of any change of residence.

Personal space. In an apartment or house for a child, there must be a separate bed and a play area. In the act of checking the living conditions of a minor ward, which is compiled at each check, there is even a corresponding line.

If the child does not have a furnished personal space, the guardian will be obliged to equip it.

Cleanliness and order. The house should be clean: the floor and dishes are washed, the dust is wiped off.

At the time of the check, the kitchen must have cooked food, and the refrigerator must have food supplies for at least two days. Some welfare officers even look into pots to find out what the child is being fed.

Repair. Every year Svetlana makes cosmetic repairs in the child's room. For example, she paints the floor and windows, glues wallpaper. It takes 2500-3500 R per year.

It is necessary to make annual repairs because the guardianship authorities carefully ensure that the child lives in a clean and renovated room. And if in ordinary families the repair in the room can be done when the parents themselves want it, in the guardian family, the guardianship authorities will ensure that it is always fresh.

The amounts Svetlana spends on supporting her son vary from month to month.

At first, the boy had clothes left over from his life in his family. This helped the mother-in-law save money in the first months of guardianship. At the same time, specialists from the guardianship authorities advised Svetlana not to buy expensive toys for her son, because he quickly broke them. Instead, they offered to purchase inexpensive construction sets so that the child develops fine motor skills of the hands.

Svetlana regularly gives her ward something that goes beyond the budget. For example, over the past year, she bought him a smartphone, new clothes for school, as well as a jacket and trendy sneakers.

How much does guardianship cost

Already purchased

Clothing and footwear

7000 R

desk

4000 4000 R toys and books

3000 3000 R

bed

200002 SELE

1500 R