Evidence is critically important to any legal case and a child custody case is no exception. It supports what a parent believes is best for their child. The evidence a parent presents in court determines whether the judge rules in their favor.
A parent wants to start collecting evidence immediately upon learning that they have a legal case involving child custody. A lawyer consultation with a California lawyer would help a person understand what evidence they need to support their child custody case and how to prepare it for the courtroom.
The type of evidence that is going to help a parent make their case for custody or visitation depends in part on the exact issues in their case. However, certain child custody documents and evidence, if available in their case and relevant to it, would be helpful. These are as follows:
- Income Verification for the Parents: This would include pay stubs, tax returns or possibly accounting records if the parent is in business for themselves. The goal would be to show financial stability.
- The Child’s Medical Records: The records should show that the child receives appropriate medical care.
- School Records: These would show the child’s grades.
- Police Reports: A parent would obtain these if any domestic violence has occurred involving the other parent that was reported to law enforcement.
- Current Visitation Schedule: If there is a visitation arrangement in place, a journal showing when scheduled visitation took place and when it may have been missed would be relevant.
Again, the particular facts of an individual’s situation may suggest that other documents are also important. This is why consulting a lawyer can be vitally important.
The issue of child custody may come up in legal separations, divorces, and in cases in which the parents are not married. If a child was adopted by a couple that is now seeking a divorce, the process and the standard for decision is the same. Adoption of a child establishes a legal parent-child relationship.
How Will This Evidence Make My Child Custody & Visitation Case Stronger?
In a courtroom, it is never enough to just say that something happened or that something is true. Every part of a person’s case must be proven by qualified, admissible evidence. Evidence can be the testimony of witnesses to events. It can be documents, e.g., a birth certificate or medical records. Expert witnesses can testify about technical and scientific topics, e.g., what road markings at the scene of an accident reveal about how an accident happened.
Evidence is always necessary, and the strongest evidence can also make a parent’s case more likely to succeed. It is important to keep in mind that the standard a California family court applies in deciding every child custody case is what is in the best interest of the child.
It also pays to remember that in California, child custody laws are now gender neutral, and neither parent has any advantage over the other based on their gender. Again, in California, the basis for every decision is the child’s best interest standard.
Courts will focus on numerous factors when making decisions regarding what serves the best interest of the child in a case. Some of the factors are the following:
- The physical and mental health of the child
- The character of the relationship the child has with each parent
- The stability of each parent’s home situation
- Whether any parent has failed to pay court-ordered child support
- The willingness of each parent to parent the child
- Whether there has been any domestic violence
- The preference of the child if they are old enough to express their preference.
If a child was adopted by a couple that is now seeking a divorce, the process and the standard for decision is the same. Adoption of a child establishes a legal parent-child relationship.
It is also important to recognize that there are two types of custody in California, legal and physical. Legal custody is the authority to make the important decisions about a child’s upbringing, and physical custody is where the child resides.
California courts prefer joint legal custody. So if one parent wants sole legal custody, i.e., sole authority to make the important decisions about the child’s upbringing, they would have to make a clear showing through the evidence they present that this would serve the child’s best interest. Sole physical custody is also an option, as is joint physical custody.
The parents of a child are likely to have engaged in family mediation in an effort to resolve their custody and visitation issue without going to court. So when they go to court for a hearing to resolve the issues, they need to have a fully prepared case with evidence that is ready to present to the court.
How Do I File Evidence in Family Court for a Child Custody & Visitation Case in California?
Whether evidence can be admitted in court to prove a fact or claim depends on the California Rules of Evidence. This is a body of law that states what kind of evidence is admissible in a court proceeding and what purpose it should serve. The Rules of Evidence dictate how one party’s evidence can be challenged by the other and when the court should exclude evidence.
The Rules apply to all kinds of evidence, e.g., the testimony of witnesses, documents, photographs, videos and any other item. The Rules apply in all court proceedings.
Clearly, an individual either needs to be familiar with the Rules of Evidence, or they would need an experienced attorney to help them identify the evidence they need to prove their case and how to ensure that it is admissible. If a parent is not familiar with the California Rules of Evidence, then in all likelihood, they need to be represented by an attorney in their child custody case.
What if This Is Not Accepted by the Courts as Evidence?
If a court refuses to admit an item of evidence, then the parent who sought to use the evidence has a few options. As with every decision made by a trial court, they can always ask the court to reconsider its exclusion of the evidence.
The court may provide a reason for excluding some item of evidence, and the reasoning might suggest how the evidence could be differently presented so as to be admissible.
If this is not possible, they can appeal the exclusion of the evidence to a higher court. This might require a lot of time. The proponent of the evidence may have to wait until the court renders a decision. If the decision is not the one the proponent wanted, they might then appeal the decision on the grounds that the exclusion of the evidence was erroneous, and it should have been admitted.
Yet another option is to try to prove the fact or claim they wanted to prove through the rejected evidence by means of some different item of evidence. Of course, that might not be possible if there is no alternative piece of evidence. Again, much depends on exactly what the evidence is and what fact or claim it is intended to prove.
Why Do I Need a Child Custody and Visitation Order in California?
A child custody order is a formal directive from a court that outlines the legal responsibilities of parents for their child after a separation or divorce or if the parents are not married and do not live together. These orders determine how parents will care for their children, including where the children will live and who will make important decisions affecting their lives.
It requires the parents to take certain actions and respect certain arrangements. If they do not, there can be consequences, e.g., a parent can be found in contempt of court.
In California, What Evidence Will the Court Consider When Drafting the Order?
When making a final decision about child custody and drafting an order that reflects this decision, a court should consider all of the evidence that was admitted in a trial. However, the court has the discretion to decide that some evidence should weigh more heavily than other evidence. For example, a court might find that one witness was more credible than another.
In the final analysis, the court has the authority to make a decision as long as it is supported by evidence that was admitted in accordance with the California Rules of Evidence.
How Can a Lawyer Help Me With My Child Custody Evidence?
If you are facing a court trial regarding child custody or visitation, you want to consult a California child custody lawyer. The issue of evidence is critical to your case, and your lawyer knows the rules of Evidence. They can make sure that when you appear in court, you produce the evidence you need to make the strongest possible case.
