Custody/Visitation
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The legal process for parenting plans and custody orders.
If you cannot afford the filing fee or other court costs, you may qualify to have these fees and costs waived by the court.
This section will give you general guidelines for how to best prepare yourself for court.
This is an online guide for families going through separation and divorce. With three versions " one for parents, one for children, and another for teens and pre-teens.
Parenting time: developing plans, custody and parenting time (visitation) orders, and supervised visitation.
ADR is usually less formal, less expensive, and less time-consuming than a trial.
Answers to frequently asked basic questions about child custody mediation in California courts.
Find a court program near you.
If a custodial parent wants to move away with the child.
This guide can help you if you live with a child, but aren't the parent or don't have legal custody. It explains how to fill out the Caregiver Authorization Affidavit form and use it to enroll the child in school and help the child get medical care.
In mediation, the parents have the help of an expert (a mediator) in resolving these disagreements. If the parents are able to work out an agreement, the mediator helps the parents write a parenting plan that may then become a custody and visitation order if it is signed by a judge.
An overview of the areas that should be addressed in a parenting plan including:
Legal custody
Time-sharing schedules
Holiday/vacation schedules
Transportation arrangements
Other agreements
Custodial interference and temporary emergency custody.
County court services parenting plan counseling.
The comprehensive guide to your rights and options as a parent, including sample letters to send to the authorities. Topics covered - (1) arrest: what happens to my child? (2) placement: where will my child live? (3) foster care & dependency: how can i keep my family together while i'm in jail or prison? (4) family reunification: how do i get my child back when i get out? (5) making a record: what can i do while i'm in jail or prison? (6) paternity: how do i show i'm the dad? (7) de facto parent: what is it? (8) child support: how can i pay when i don't have any money? (9) special immigrant juvenile status: what is it? who qualifies?
Guardianships, dependency proceedings, getting a child out of a shelter, visitation rights of grandparents, when permanent custody is necessary, adoption, foster care, public benefits, relative caregiver options chart, and school issues.
This resource guide was designed to answer basic legal questions related to marriage, domestic partnerships, parenting, foster care, and youth issues.
Legal parentage, second-parent adoption, parentage judgments, custody, and parenting agreements.
This guide describes the dependency court process in California. It also
includes the story of one parent who went through the dependency system
and her advice to you on how to get your children back home.