Termination of jurisdiction-custody and visitation orders (§§ 302, 304, 361.2, 362.4, 726.5)

When the juvenile court terminates its jurisdiction over a dependent or ward of the court and places the child in the home of a parent, it may issue an order determining the rights to custody of and visitation with the child. The court may also issue protective orders as provided in section 213.5 or as described in Family Code section 6218.

(a) Effect of order

Any order issued under this rule continues in effect until modified or terminated by a later order of a superior court with jurisdiction to make determinations about the custody of the child. The order may be modified or terminated only if the superior court finds both that:

(1) There has been a significant change of circumstances since the juvenile court issued the order; and

(2) Modification or termination of the order is in the best interest of the child.

(b) Preparation and transmission of order

The order must be prepared on Custody Order-Juvenile-Final Judgment (form JV-200). The court must direct either the parent, parent's attorney, county counsel, or clerk to:

(1) Prepare the order for the court's signature; and

(2) Transmit the order within 10 calendar days after the order is signed to any superior court where a proceeding described in (c)(1) is pending or, if no such proceeding exists, to the superior court of, in order of preference:

(A) The county in which the parent who has been given sole physical custody resides;

(B) The county in which the children's primary residence is located if no parent has been given sole physical custody; or

(C) A county or other location where any parent resides.

(c) Procedures for filing order-receiving court

On receiving a juvenile court custody order transmitted under (b)(2), the clerk of the receiving court must immediately file the juvenile court order as follows.

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the juvenile court order must be filed in any pending nullity, dissolution, legal separation, guardianship, Uniform Parentage Act, Domestic Violence Prevention Act, or other family law custody proceeding and, when filed, becomes a part of that proceeding.

(2) If the only pending proceeding related to the child in the receiving court is filed under Family Code section 17400 et seq., the clerk must proceed as follows.

(A) If the receiving court has issued a custody or visitation order in the pending proceeding, the clerk must file the received order in that proceeding.

(B) If the receiving court has not issued a custody or visitation order in the pending proceeding, the clerk must not file the received order in that proceeding, but must instead proceed under paragraph (3).

(3) If no dependency, family law, or guardianship proceeding affecting custody or visitation of the child is pending, the order must be used to open a new custody proceeding in the receiving court. The clerk must immediately open a family law file without charging a filing fee, assign a case number, and file the order in the new case file.

(d) Endorsed filed copy-clerk's certificate of service

Within 15 court days of receiving the order, the clerk of the receiving court must send an endorsed filed copy of the order showing the case number assigned by the receiving court by first-class mail or by electronic means in accordance with section 212.5 to the child's parents and the originating juvenile court, with a completed clerk's certificate of service, for inclusion in the child's file.