How Can I Prepare for Sole Custody of My Child?
Child Custody

How Can I Prepare for Sole Custody of My Child?

Are you ready to take responsibility for sole custody of your child? California family courts generally grant joint custody to both parents in a divorce. Obtaining sole custody can be a difficult and involved process, and you need significant assistance from a knowledgeable legal professional. Certified CA Family Law Specialist Judy L. Burger offers some tips to prepare for sole child custody.

What Is Sole Custody?

Sole custody, also known as full custody, is a legal arrangement in which one parent or guardian has the exclusive right and responsibility to make decisions about the upbringing of the child and has the primary physical custody of the child. This means that the child lives with one parent most of the time. The other parent may have visitation rights or parenting time, but they do not have the legal authority to make decisions about the child’s upbringing. In sole custody cases, one parent has the ultimate authority and responsibility for the child’s well-being.

Steps to Prepare for Sole Custody of Your Child in CA

Custody orders are granted by the family court. Until you have a court order, both parents have the same rights. This means that both of you can make decisions about your children. No parent has any more rights to have the children in their care than the other.  

Family Law Attorney Judy Burger can help you with the following steps to file for sole custody of your child in California.

Create a Parenting Plan

When spouses with children separate, they must create a parenting plan to present to the court. Many couples can work out an equitable plan that the court can simply approve. A parenting plan reflecting a sole custody arrangement will likely meet with disapproval by the other parent. 

When domestic violence has occurred, the law allows the court to grant sole custody in order to protect the children and abused spouse. There is specific paperwork for requesting sole custody in domestic violence cases.

Gather The Evidence to Support Sole Child Custody

A family court judge will need convincing evidence to grant one parent sole custody. This evidence must basically prove the other parent is unfit to care for the child. However, it must also prove that you are fit and able to care for the child. The court will consider:

  • Domestic violence history or charges
  • Police reports
  • Medical evidence
  • Witness statements
  • Correspondence
  • Employment history
  • Housing situation
  • Emotional and physical health of the parent
  • Age and health of the child
  • Emotional ties between the parents and the child
  • The child’s ties to the community, family, school, etc.

The primary consideration is always the child’s best interests.

File a Custody Petition with the Court

Your attorney will help you collect the necessary evidence and complete other required paperwork to file a sole custody petition with the court. Completing forms correctly and including all pertinent information is critical. Documentation you may need can include:

  • Parenting plan
  • Request for orders on child custody and visitation
  • Petition to establish a parental relationship
  • Petition for custody visitation
  • Petition for dissolution
  • Official statement about domestic violence (Form MC-030)

CA Custody Attorney Judy Burger can review your case, determine the specific documents you need, and help you complete them correctly.

Attend a Child Custody Court Hearing

After filing for custody, you must attend a child custody court hearing. During the hearing, the judge will review your parenting plan and custody petition and listen to arguments from both sides. The judge will then decide on the custody arrangement that is in the child’s best interest.

Attorney Judy Burger specializes in family law in California and can assist you in securing the best custody and support arrangements for your case. She can help you understand the custody hearing process, gather evidence, prepare for testimony, anticipate challenges during the hearing, develop a parenting plan, and advocate for your interests.

Get Help with Child Custody in California

If you have a child custody case in California, the Law Offices of Judy L. Burger will guide you through the process and fight for your rights. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and get the support you need. 

What Is Joint Legal Custody?
California Divorce, Child Custody

What Is Joint Legal Custody?

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Zach and Mary decide to divorce after 14 years of marriage. Of course, they are concerned about how their three children will handle the stress of divorce. Both parents want custody, but realize they need a plan. As they learn more about how custody is decided, they have questions. For example, they aren’t sure what joint legal custody entails.

Types of Child Custody

In a divorce proceeding, the term “child custody” refers to the care, control, and maintenance of a child or children. However, there are two different types of custody:  physical and legal. Each type of custody can be sole or joint. Sometimes a judge may even award one parent sole physical custody of a child, but joint legal custody. As always, the judge will decide what’s best for the child when finalizing child custody arrangements:

  • Sole Custody. A parent with sole physical custody decides where a child lives. If a parent is awarded sole legal custody, he or she will make all legal decisions related to a child’s health, education, and welfare. The non-custodial parent may have visitation rights as ordered by the court.
  • Joint Custody. Parents may share legal or physical custody under joint custody arrangements. Physical custody still relates to arrangements regarding the physical presence of the child. Legal custody still refers to the child’s health, education, and welfare. The difference, of course, is that each parent has at least some say in what happens with the child.

So, how does joint legal custody vary from sole legal custody and joint/sole physical custody?

Joint Legal Custody

Parents who are given joint legal custody generally are required to make decisions together. However, if a parent refuses to work with the other parent, they may both end up back in court. That’s not the ideal situation for anyone.

Sometimes Sharing is Impossible.

A judge may give one parent sole legal custody if:

  • parents are unable to work together
  • one person is considered an unfit parent
  • one of the parents is just not capable of making legal decisions
  • it appears that it’s not in the children’s best interests for both parents to share legal custody

Final Thoughts.

Zach and Mary found it difficult to agree on a parenting plan. Both wanted maximum time with their kids. Both wanted to make all decisions. The judge presiding over their case sent to them mediation, where they came up a parenting plan that worked for the children. They were able to see that joint custody could work as long as they continued to communicate and put their children first.

Acting in the best interest of the child is the driving principle behind a parent plan. Make sure custody issues are handled while negotiating your marital settlement agreement.

To discuss your child custody concerns with an experienced California attorney, please call us at 415-293-8314. The attorneys at the Law Offices of Judy L. Burger assist clients in San Francisco, Marin County, Santa Barbara, Ventura/Oxnard, San Jose, Gold River (Sacramento), Roseville, and surrounding communities.

Types of California Custody Orders
Child Custody

Types of California Custody Orders

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In California, as in most states, custody, visitation, and child support issues are intertwined. This blog will discuss the basics of custody law in California. You may read more about child support at our blog here, and visitation will be explained in more detail in a later blog.


California law recognizes two types of custody: physical and legal. Courts make decisions about these issues based on the best interests of the child. Custody is not granted based on the parents’ ages, lifestyles, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation. Also, in California, there is no presumption that custody of young child should be awarded to the mother. Indeed, by law, the sex of the parents may not be considered in making custody decisions. See Cal. Fam. Code § 3040(a)(1). California courts presume that the child’s best interest is supported by joint custody arrangements. See Cal. Fam. Code § 3080.


When most people hear the term “custody,” they usually think of where a child lives. This is called “physical custody.” Physical custody may be held jointly—by both parents—or by one parent, known as “sole” physical custody.


With joint custody, each parent has a “significant period of physical custody.” While a child’s time cannot usually be split in exact halves, the child in a joint custody arrangement has “frequent and continuing contact with both parents.” Cal. Fam. Code § 3004.


On the other hand, when one parent receives sole physical custody of a child, the child lives with and is under the supervision of that parent, and the other parent is given visitation rights.


The second type of custody is called “legal custody.” This term refers to the right and responsibility of parents to make important decisions for their children. Legal custody may be awarded jointly to both parents or to only one parent. 


If the parents have joint legal custody, usually both parents must agree on issues related to the health, education, and welfare of the child. This includes decisions about important aspects of the child’s life, such as the following:

  • Religious decisions, such as whether and where a child will go to church;
  • Medical and dental decisions, such as whether to get braces or undergo psychotherapy; and
  • What school the child(ren) will attend.


When legal custody is given to one parent, it is called “sole legal custody.” If a parent has sole legal custody, that parent has the exclusive right and responsibility to make these decisions for the child.


Often, parents can come to a mutually agreeable decision about child custody. When this occurs, it is certainly better for the child. However, if the parents cannot agree, a judge will make these decisions for them and memorialize them in an order that either parent can later enforce.


Custody issues can be among the most contested between parents. As you might imagine, how these matters are presented to a court can make a significant difference in the support order. You want an attorney with substantial experience in Northern California who will represent you aggressively. Please contact The Law Offices of Judy L. Burger at (415) 259-6636 to learn more.