Child Custody and Visitation
Child Custody and Visitation Information
When you separate or divorce, you need to decide who will have “custody” of your children and how they will be taken care of. You also need to decide on visitation, which means how each parent will spend time with the children.
Custody refers to who the children live with and who makes important decisions for the children.
Visitation refers to how the parents will share time with the children.
Family Law Related Links
- California Courts Self-Help Center
- California Department of Child Support Services
- Yuba County Department of Child Support Services
- Self-Help Attorney/Family Law Facilitator
Information & FAQs
Click on the topics and FAQs below for more information.
A Petition for Custody and Support of Minor Children may be filed by parents who:
- Have signed a Voluntary Declaration of Paternity, or
- Are married and don’t want to get legally separated or divorced, or
- Are not married and have legally adopted a child together, or
- Have been determined to be the parents in a juvenile or Department of Child Support Services case
By filing this petition, the parents may ask the Court to make custody and support orders, in addition to other orders.
You may also ask the Court to make orders for spousal support and/or child support, custody and visitation by filing an Order to Show Cause or a Notice of Motion in an existing dissolution, legal separation, nullity, domestic partnership, or paternity case.
The local Department of Child Support Services can assist you in establishing paternity and child support.
For child support information, you may connect with the California Department of Child Support Services. This is California’s child support self-service information system designed with the customer in mind. You can use this secure self-service website 24-hours a day, seven-days a week. You can update your account information, get individual case information, get payment information, make a payment, reset or change your PIN, and verify appointment dates and times. You will need to have your Social Security number (or participant ID) and personal information identification number (PIN) ready if you want to access case-specific information.
“Establishing paternity” means the determination of who the legal parents of a child are if the parents were not married when the child was born.
A child's parentage must be established before you can get child support or custody and visitation orders. By filing the Petition to Establish Parental Relationship, you may ask the Court for child support or custody and visitation as part of this case.
More information is available at the California Online Self-Help Center.
In addition, the Self-Help Attorney/Family Law Facilitator can provide assistance for those who are representing themselves in child support and family law matters.