If you are reading this section, the rest of the divorce probably feels secondary. It usually is. The custody decisions made in your case will shape your relationship with your children for years; the financial decisions, however large, are recoverable in a way custody is not. Take this slowly. Get good help. Don't let positional fights about money bleed into custody fights, or vice versa.
§ 01The best-interest standard
California courts make every custody and visitation decision under one standard: the best interests of the child. The Family Code lists factors the court considers — the child's health, safety, and welfare; any history of abuse or substance use; the nature and amount of contact with each parent; among others — but the standard itself is broad and deeply discretionary.
The legislature has written one explicit policy preference into the standard: California favors frequent and continuing contact with both parents, except when contact with one parent is not in the child's best interest. This is a thumb on the scale toward shared parenting, not a rigid rule of equal time.
§ 02Two kinds of custody
California separates legal and physical custody. They are decided independently and can land in different combinations.
Legal custody
Legal custody is the right to make decisions about a child's health, education, and welfare — choice of school, medical care, religion, mental health treatment, extracurricular activities. It can be joint (both parents share decision-making) or sole (one parent decides). Joint legal custody is the most common outcome in California, even in cases with significant disputes about physical custody. Sole legal custody is reserved for cases where the parents cannot communicate or where one parent has demonstrated they will not act in the child's best interest.
Physical custody
Physical custody is where the child lives, day to day. It can also be joint or sole, and the labels are less important than the actual schedule. A child who is with one parent 65% of the time and the other 35% may have "joint physical custody" — the term is flexible. What governs daily life is the parenting plan: a written schedule that says who has the child when, including weekdays, weekends, holidays, school breaks, and vacations.
§ 03The parenting plan
The parenting plan is the document that actually shapes life after divorce. Some are detailed to the hour; some are sparse and rely on parental cooperation. A good plan addresses:
- Regular weekly schedule (school days, weekends).
- Holiday schedule (alternating, splitting, or fixed assignments).
- School breaks and summer vacation.
- Birthdays — child's, parents', extended family's.
- Transportation — who picks up, who drops off, where exchanges happen.
- Communication when the child is with the other parent.
- Right of first refusal — whether the other parent gets first call for childcare during their parent's time.
- Decision-making process for legal custody questions.
- How the plan changes as children age.
Most parents draft their plan with the help of a mediator (some counties require mediation through Family Court Services before any contested custody hearing). The judge will sign off on a parenting plan the parents agree to, unless something in it strikes the court as harmful to the child.
§ 04Custody evaluations
When parents cannot agree and the case is contested, the court may order a custody evaluation — sometimes called a 730 evaluation, after the Evidence Code section that authorizes it. A neutral mental health professional interviews both parents, the children (age-appropriately), and often other people in the children's lives. They produce a written report with recommendations the court treats with significant weight.
Evaluations are expensive — often $5,000 to $25,000 or more, paid by the parents — and emotionally demanding. They are also one of the most influential pieces of evidence in any contested custody case.
§ 05Modification
Custody orders, like support orders, can be modified when circumstances change materially. Common triggers: a parent wants to relocate, a child's school or developmental needs change, one parent's circumstances become unstable, or the existing schedule no longer serves the child as they grow. A relocation move-away case — where one parent wants to move far enough that the existing schedule cannot continue — is one of the most fraught and fact-heavy areas of California family law.
§ 06Child support: the formula
California child support is set by a statewide guideline that is presumptively correct. Courts calculate it using software (DissoMaster is the most common; XSpouse and SupporTax also exist) that takes a long list of inputs and produces a number:
- Each parent's gross income from all sources.
- Each parent's tax filing status and deductions.
- The percentage of time the child is with each parent.
- Health insurance premiums paid.
- Mandatory retirement contributions.
- Existing child or spousal support obligations from other relationships.
- Childcare costs incurred for work or education.
The result is the guideline child support number. A judge can deviate from it only in narrow circumstances and must state the reasons in writing. In practice, deviations are rare.
§ 07Add-ons
The guideline number is the base. On top of it, California courts typically order parents to share add-on expenses — generally split equally, though the percentages can be adjusted:
- Mandatory add-ons: work-related childcare and the child's uninsured medical expenses.
- Discretionary add-ons: the costs of extracurricular activities, tutoring, private school, travel between parents.
§ 08Duration and modification
Child support continues until the child turns eighteen, or nineteen if the child is still a full-time high school student living with a parent. Special-needs children may have support extended. Child support orders can be modified at any time when circumstances change — a parent's income changes, the time-share changes, the child's needs change.
Unlike spousal support, child support arrears never go away. Unpaid child support accrues interest at the legal rate and is enforceable indefinitely, with mechanisms ranging from wage garnishment to license suspension to passport denial.