California Child Custody Laws

Child custody is an important tool to maintain the safety of children. For example, if one parent starts acting violently towards the children, it is possible to get an emergency child custody order that removes the violent parent’s child custody rights. Of course, custody is also a big issue in California divorces.

Those who are acting to protect a child should be familiar with the basics of how California child custody laws affect judicial decisions. By learning about the law, a parent can prepare specific facts and evidence for court hearings that will strengthen requests to grant or take away child custody in California.

Types of Custody

The two main types of California child custody are legal and physical custody, and the law separates these into sole and joint custody. So under California child custody laws, a judge can grant sole or joint legal custody plus sole or joint physical custody. Legal custody refers to the right to make important life decisions concerning the child, while physical custody is actually taking physical care of the child.

Statutory Factors in California Child Custody Laws

When a couple gets a divorce or there is a petition due to some problem with a child, the court always uses the “best interests of the child standard” under California law. However, the California Family Code, Section 3011, gives specific factors that the court must use when deciding child custody. These factors include the following:

1. The health, safety and welfare of the child.

Of course, a violently abusive parent can lose custody because the health, safety and welfare of the child are threatened. This does not mean that spanking or other types of physical punishment are necessarily abusive. It depends on the facts of each case. Only a judge can make a decision about what kinds of actions constitute a threat to a child’s safety, health and welfare.

2. History of abuse of any parent or other person who is asking for custody.

Not all abuse counts under the guidelines. According to California child custody laws, only abuse against the following types of people are included in this factor: the other parent, a cohabitant, the abuser’s parent or child, a child who received child care from the abuser, the abuser’s current spouse or a person with whom the abuser has a dating-type relationship.

3. The amount of contact (and nature of that contact) with each parent.

4. Illegal use of controlled substances or abuse of alcohol of each parent.

In this case, the abuse is supposed to be habitual or at least continual.

Note that, under the California child custody laws, the judge may also consider any other factors that are relevant to the determination of what is in the best interests of the child. But parents should keep in mind that this is not a contest to merely determine the best parent and award sole custody based on that.

A judge will not take away a California parent’s custody unless there is reason to believe that the child is in danger due to some type of abuse or neglect. However, in the best interests of the child, one parent may have primary physical custody to allow for stabilized schooling or other important things in the life of the child.

For further information on the California child custody laws, refer to the California Family Code or the California Courts Self-Help Center website (see links).

Resources:

California Family Code: Sections 3010 and 3011

California Courts Self-Help Center: Basics of Custody and Visitation

California Family Code