By H. William Edgar | Edgar & Dow
To obtain a first custody and visitation order, you need an appropriate family law case and a request that tells the judge what parenting plan you want. The filing route depends on matters such as parentage and whether a case is already open. Start with the California Courts custody-request process and a specific proposal for your child’s week.
In a first custody case, I want the judge to see how the child’s week would actually work. Who gets the child to school? What happens when a parent works late? Under Family Code §§ 3011 and 3020, safety and welfare come first. A proposed calendar gives the judge something concrete to evaluate.
A parent may seek custody in an existing dissolution, parentage, or other appropriate proceeding. If there is no case, determine whether legal parentage has already been established and which petition is available. Form FL-260 is designed for specified situations involving legal parents. A parentage case may be needed if legal parentage has yet to be established. A signed voluntary declaration, judgment, or adoption order can affect the route.
Burchard v. Garay (1986) 42 Cal.3d 531 distinguishes the first judicial custody decision from a request to change an established judicial arrangement. At a first hearing, the child’s existing routine still matters to the best-interest analysis.
Identify the child’s age, school, daily routine, and current caregivers. State which legal custody decisions require joint consent, how the child will spend ordinary weeks and school breaks, and who transports. If safety affects exchanges or visits, identify the relevant facts and propose specific safeguards. A parent asking for an initial order should show what would serve the child’s health, safety, and welfare.
Read the court’s Family Court Services instructions, complete any orientation, and follow filing and service requirements. Bring a calendar and a realistic alternative schedule. Your filed request should clearly state what you want the judge to order. If an urgent safety problem exists, tell counsel the timing and review the requirements for temporary emergency orders. A regular hearing and an emergency request serve different purposes.
In Burchard v. Garay (1986) 42 Cal.3d 531, the California Supreme Court distinguished an initial custody decision from a request to change an existing final custody determination. The court can consider continuity of care at the initial hearing. Show who has handled school mornings, medical appointments, and other daily care, and how the proposed schedule would work for the child.
One unmarried parent may already have a filed voluntary declaration establishing legal parentage. Another may have only informal acknowledgments and a genuine dispute about parentage. The forms and case sequence can differ. Locate any parentage declaration or judgment before choosing a petition, then prepare the specific legal and physical custody terms you want the court to consider.
An unmarried parent who handles most school days wants an enforceable schedule. The other parent agrees to some visits but disagrees about school enrollment. Neither has a copy of the parentage paperwork.
Locate a filed declaration of parentage, judgment, or any existing action. Ask counsel whether an existing case can address the relief or whether a petition is required. Draft separate proposals for legal custody and the ordinary schedule. Include transportation, holidays, and the school decision if it needs to be addressed.
If both parents reach an agreement, put the terms in writing and ask how to submit them for court approval. If there is a genuine parentage dispute, address it through the proper process. If the situation becomes urgent, explain the specific safety facts and the deadline so counsel can evaluate a temporary request.
Identify the arrangements the child needs while the case is pending, including school pickup, medical decisions, safety terms, and how exchanges occur. Tell counsel if there is an existing protective order or if a different state has already issued a custody order.
After the hearing, get the entered order and attachments. Confirm the dates, schedule, exchange terms, and any future hearing. Share applicable provisions with the child’s school or provider where needed and keep the documents available for the next appointment.
Gather any divorce, parentage, child support, domestic violence, or juvenile court papers involving the child. Include minute orders and attachments. A case number helps you find the docket, but the actual papers show whether the court has already decided parentage, set a temporary schedule, or issued a protective order that controls exchanges. If another state has a case or order, bring the filing dates and a timeline of where the child and each parent lived.
If you already have a California family case that can address custody, a Request for Order may be the way to ask for a hearing. If there is no such case, identify the right proceeding before preparing the request. Depending on the facts, it may be a divorce, a parentage case, or a petition for custody and support of minor children. The California Courts custody request guide walks through the need for a case and the next steps.
Write out a typical two-week period. Show where the child wakes up on school days, who handles pickup, when the weekend starts and ends, and what happens on a teacher workday. Use the actual school hours and the parents’ travel time. If your work schedule rotates, state how both parents will know which dates apply and what happens if a shift changes at short notice.
Make holidays, breaks, and summer terms specific enough to follow. If Thanksgiving replaces the regular schedule, give the start time, end time, and exchange location. Identify the first year the rotation applies. If a child receives therapy or needs medication, identify who transports the child and how the parents exchange relevant instructions. A proposed order can address a small number of details that make a large difference in the child’s routine.
Address legal custody separately. Specify how the parents would handle decisions about school, medical care, and other matters that require agreement. If one issue needs a specific procedure, state who shares the information, how long the other parent has to respond, and what decision the court needs to make now.
Use the FL-311 parenting-time attachment to help describe the requested terms. In the declaration, connect those terms to what you have seen and what the child needs. For example, if school drop-off is the dispute, identify the current routine, the transportation problem, and how the requested schedule fixes it. Attach the specific document that supports the point, such as the school calendar or a message confirming an exchange.
Check the filed hearing notice for the date and department, the court’s filing and service instructions, and any Family Court Services appointment or orientation. Arrange service as required and keep the proof of service. Review any response and identify what is agreed, what remains disputed, and what evidence supports the decision you are asking the judge to make.
Tell counsel early if a protective order, domestic violence allegation, or immediate safety issue affects how the hearing or mediation should proceed. California Courts explains options such as requesting separate mediation sessions and bringing a support person in qualifying cases. Follow the court’s instructions for your appointment. California Courts mediation information.
Ask which terms begin immediately and which depend on a later event. A parent may need to know who handles an exchange that same week, even when another hearing is already scheduled. Write down dates, any conditions for supervised contact or a gradual increase in parenting time, and who must prepare the order after hearing.
Get a copy of the filed order and compare it with your notes. Check whether the court made an interim arrangement or decided custody finally, and identify any issues it reserved. Keep the order and attachments together and share only the relevant provisions with a school or provider that needs them. Calendar the next hearing or review date and bring any discrepancy to counsel promptly.
Prepare a short explanation of what the child needs during a typical week. Use examples the counselor can understand quickly. “School lets out at 2:45 and I am available for pickup on Tuesdays and Thursdays” gives the counselor something to work with. If your concern is that an exchange repeatedly falls through, identify the dates and propose a workable location and backup.
Decide which terms you can agree on before the session. Parents who disagree about the school-week schedule may still be able to agree on holiday pickup, transportation, or access to school records. Ask how any partial agreement will be recorded. Review the written terms carefully and keep track of the decisions that still need to go to the judge.
In recommending counseling, the counselor’s recommendation can affect what the judge reviews. In confidential mediation, the parents can still use the session to narrow the dispute. In either process, prepare the proposed order and evidence for the court separately so the judge has the facts necessary to decide any issue that remains open.
California Courts: Request custody and visitation orders
Form FL-260 and eligibility information
Explore the California Child Custody and Visitation Library for more guides on getting started.
Legal Custody vs. Physical Custody in California: What’s the Difference?
What Happens at CCRC in Riverside and San Bernardino County?
How Do I Write a Parenting Plan That Works in California?
How Do I Prepare a Request for Order and Declaration in a California Custody Case?
What happens at a contested custody trial
How Do Unmarried Parents Get Custody and Visitation Orders in California?
Related reading. What Is the “Best Interest of the Child” Standard in California Custody Cases?
If you are preparing for your first custody hearing, contact Edgar & Dow to schedule a consultation. Bring the current orders, the facts affecting your child, and the next deadline so we can assess what relief fits your case.
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