Fam. Code, § 216 · Part 2. GENERAL PROCEDURAL PROVISIONS
Fam. Code, § 216
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
(a) In the absence of a stipulation by the parties to the contrary, there shall be no ex parte communication between the attorneys for any party to an action and any court-appointed or court-connected evaluator or mediator, or between a court-appointed or court-connected evaluator or mediator and the court, in any proceedings under this code, except with regard to the scheduling of appointments.
(b) There shall be no ex parte communications between counsel appointed by the court pursuant to Section 3150 and a court-appointed or court-connected evaluator or mediator, except when it is expressly authorized by the court or undertaken pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (c) of Section 3151.
(c) Subdivisions (a) and (b) shall not apply in the following situations:
(1) To allow a mediator or evaluator to address a case involving allegations of domestic violence as set forth in Sections 3113, 3181, and 3192.
(2) To allow a mediator or evaluator to address a case involving allegations of domestic violence as set forth in Rule 5.215 of the California Rules of Court.
(3) If the mediator or evaluator determines that ex parte communication is needed to inform the court of the mediator’s or evaluator’s belief that a restraining order is necessary to prevent an imminent risk to the physical safety of the child or the party.
(d) This section shall not be construed to limit the responsibilities a mediator or evaluator may have as a mandated reporter pursuant to Section 11165.9 of the Penal Code or the responsibilities a mediator or evaluator have to warn under Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California (1976) 17 Cal.3d 425, Hedlund v. Superior Court (1983) 34 Cal.3d 695, and Section 43.92 of the Civil Code.
(e) The Judicial Council shall, by July 1, 2006, adopt a rule of court to implement this section.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 115, Sec. 2. (AB 1817) Effective January 1, 2020.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=FAM§ionNum=216.
- Text hash
- sha256 7bd30c931de14be57e56c1f19e84b577d5190819640e5571f6a426edb876c988
- Composed by
- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
BenchPath cards that rely on this text
- Nevada County Superior Court Rules of Court (effective January 1, 1997; updated July 1, 2026) — Chapter 5: Family Law
- Riverside County Superior Court Local Rules (effective July 1, 2026) — Title 5: Family and Juvenile Rules
- San Luis Obispo County Superior Court Local Rules of Court (effective July 1, 2026) — Chapter 19: Family Law Department Procedures and Policies
- Sierra County Superior Court Local Rules (effective July 1, 2026) — Rule 6: Family Law
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Family Code
Cited by 3 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Fam. Code, § 216. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Family Code
California Rules of Court
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.