In California, either parent can have custody of the children, or the parents can share custody. The judge makes the final decision about custody and visitation but usually will approve the arrangement (the parenting plan) that both parents agree on. If the parents cannot agree, the judge will make a decision at a court hearing or trial. The judge will usually not make a decision about custody and visitation until after the parents have met with a mediator from Family Court Services.
The law says that judges must give custody according to what is in the best interest of the child.
To decide what is best for a child, the court will consider:
The age of the child, the health of the child, the emotional ties between the parents and the child, the ability of the parents to care for the child, any history of family violence or substance abuse, and the child’s ties to school, home, and his or her community.
If you are still married and not ready to ask for a divorce, or, if you are not married and have established that you are a parent of the child, you can ask for the court to make a plan for visitation.
You will need to fill out:
The original and at least two copies should be filed with the court clerk. One of the copies will be served upon the other party and an FL-115 Proof of Service of Summons will be filled out by the server of process and filed with the court.
There are two kinds of child custody:
Legal custody can be:
Parents with legal custody make decisions or choices about their children’s:
Parents who share legal custody both have the right to make decisions about these aspects of their children’s lives, but they do not have to agree on every decision. Either parent can make a decision alone. But to avoid having problems and ending up back in court, both parents should communicate with each other and cooperate in making decisions together.
Physical custody can be:
Joint physical custody does not mean that the children must spend exactly half the time with each parent. Usually the children spend a little more time with 1 parent than the other because it is too hard to split the time exactly in half. When 1 parent has the children more than half of the time, then that parent is sometimes called the “primary custodial parent.”
Sometimes, a judge gives parents joint legal custody, but not joint physical custody. This means that both parents share the responsibility for making important decisions in the children’s lives, but the children live with 1 parent most of the time. The parent who does not have physical custody usually has visitation with the children.
