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Chapter VI, Rules 6.10 to 6.22: the UCCJEA declaration, and mediation at Family Court Services before a hearing on a disputed issue of custody or visitation - private and confidential, no audio or visual recording device, only the parent or the parties named in the action present, and no recommendation to the court when mediation does not result in an agreement (6.10); custody investigations by Family Court Services and their confidential written reports (6.11); the Office of the Family Law Facilitator (6.12); form FL-191 with an order for child or family support (6.13); counsel for minor children - qualifications under rule 5.242, termination of appointment and the complaint procedure (6.14 to 6.14.3); collaborative law cases (6.15 to 6.15.3); a meet and confer conference before a hearing on the IV-D calendar (6.16.1); elisor signatures by the Clerk of the Court under Family Code section 1101 (6.17); temporary spousal support under the Santa Clara Guidelines (6.18); specialized filings (6.19); reports and declarations from supervised visitation providers (6.20); the family law case management plan for complex matters (6.21); and Live Scan for an investigation that includes criminal history (6.22).
California > Fifth Appellate District > Kern County > Superior Court of California, County of Kern
Rule 6.10 Child Custody and Visitation (Effective 7/1/03; renum. 1/1/13; rev. 7/1/18; rev. 1/1/20; rev. 1/1/25; rev. and renum. 7/1/25) (a) In all original and subsequent proceedings where child custody, visitation, or both, are issues, the parties must attach a completed Declaration Under Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) form. A party has a continuing duty to file an updated UCCJEA form and have it served on the other party if he or she obtains additional information (Effective 7/1/03; rev. 1/1/20) (b) Before a hearing involving a disputed issue of custody, visitation, or both, the parties must meet with a mediator at Family Court Services. (c) The mediation session is private and confidential. Statements made during mediation by the mediator, or by any party, are inadmissible in future hearings. Use of an audio or visual recording device of any type is not permitted during a mediation session. (Effective 7/1/03; rev. 1/1/20) (d) No party or attorney for a party shall initiate contact with a mediator, orally or in writing, to discuss the merits of the case without notice to the other party and an opportunity to be present or to receive a copy of a written communication. (Effective 1/1/20) (e) Nothing in this rule restricts any person from reporting or serving as a witness where a crime has been committed, or is alleged to have been committed, in his or her presence. (Effective 1/1/20) (f) Nothing in this rule restricts Family Court Services staff from complying with any law requiring reporting of child abuse and the fact that such a report was made or exists shall not be deemed confidential. (Effective 1/1/20) (g) Nothing in this rule restricts Family Court Services staff from complying with any law requiring the disclosure of information if a mediation participant presents a danger to him/herself or to another person. (Effective 1/1/20) (h) Only the parent or the parties named in the action may be present in the mediation session. (Effective 7/1/03; rev. 1/1/20; rev. 7/1/25) (i) In the event mediation does not result in an agreement, the mediator shall make no recommendation to the court about custody and visitation. The mediator may not be called as a witness. (Effective 7/1/03; rev. 7/1/18; renum. 1/1/20; renum. 1/1/25; renum. 7/1/25) (j) The mediator may recommend to the court that counsel be appointed to represent a minor, and the mediator may inform the court of the reason the appointment of counsel is recommended. If the parties have not reached an agreement upon completing mediation, the mediator may recommend that a full or partial custody investigation be conducted by Family Court Services. If a partial custody investigation is recommended, the mediator shall identify the issues to be investigated. (Effective 7/1/03; rev. 7/1/18; renum. 1/1/25; renum. 7/1/25) Rule 6.11 Custody Investigations by Family Court Services (Effective 7/1/03; renum. 1/1/13; rev. 7/1/18; rev. 7/1/21; rev. 1/1/22; rev. 1/1/24; rev. 1/1/25) (a) When directed by the court, a Family Court Services investigator must conduct a full or partial custody investigation and file a confidential written report and recommendation. All evaluations and written reports must comply with California Rules of Court, rule 5.220(f) and (g). (Effective 7/1/03; rev. 7/1/18; rev. 7/1/21) (b) Questionnaires must be submitted to the investigator within ten (10) days of the court’s order referring the matter for evaluation. (c) The parties must disclose the existence of any related case involving either of the parties or the minor children of the parties. Examples of related cases include family law, guardianship, domestic violence, criminal, and/or juvenile cases involving a minor child of one or both of the parties. This information shall be provided to the court by filing a Confidential-Party Identification and Notice of Related Case(s) (local mandatory form KRN SUP CRT FL-0122). The court must maintain the form as confidential and shall require a court order to release said information at any time to any party. (Effective 1/1/22) (d) A completed Confidential-Party Identification and Notice of Related Case(s) must accompany every Family Law case-initiating pleading and any ex parte applications. This document is to be filed with the court. It is not to be served on any party. (Effective 1/1/22) (e) Nothing in this rule shall prevent an investigator from reporting to the Court the existence of another court case involving minor child(ren) at issue or their parent, stepparents, or legal guardians, for the purposes of coordinating court hearings and delivery of services. (Effective 1/1/22) (f) Family Court Services mediations and investigations shall be held in private and shall be confidential. All communications, either verbal or written, made by the parties to the mediator/investigator during the investigation are deemed confidential. Family Court Services staff will not release information to any individual, except as authorized by the Court or statute. (Effective 1/1/22) (g) It is the responsibility of the Court to assure that Family Court Services investigators and mediators adhere to the minimum qualifications, training, continuing education, and experience requirements as set forth in the California Rules of Court, rule 5.225. The Court’s Human Resources Department will maintain a record of all required training. (Effective 1/1/22) (h) Family Court Services investigators and mediators must document that they meet the qualifications and training requirements by submitting Judicial Council Form FL-325 (Declaration of Court-Connected Child Custody Evaluator Regarding Qualifications), to the Court. The FL-325 will be submitted: (1) within 10 days of the appointment; (2) prior to initiating evaluation services on a case; and (3) annually by January 1st of each year. The Court’s Human Resources Department will maintain the FL-325 forms. (Effective 1/1/22) (i) The witness fee required for a Family Court Services investigator is set under Government Code section 68097.2 and must be paid in the Family Law Department before serving the subpoena. Witness fees will not be required from requesting parties with a valid fee waiver or from court appointed counsel compensated by the County of Kern. (Effective 1/1/24) (j) To assist with scheduling demands in the Family Court Services Department, subpoenas should be served at least ten calendar days before the scheduled hearing date (Effective 1/1/25) Rule 6.12 Family Law Facilitator (Effective 7/1/03; rev. 1/1/07; renum. 1/1/13) (a) The services of the Office of the Family Law Facilitator are available to all unrepresented parents and parties at times and dates as set by the Family Law Facilitator. (Effective 7/1/03; rev. 1/1/07) (b) When performing duties under the Family Law Facilitator Act (Family Code section 10000, et. seq.) and specifically Family Code section 10004, the duties of the Facilitator may include any or all of the duties set out in Family Code section 10005, as designated by the court and subject to adequate funding. (Effective 1/1/07) (c) The Court may assign duties to the Facilitator outside the scope of the Family Law Facilitator Act if funding other than AB 1058 funding is available to expand the Facilitator’s services. (Effective 1/1/07) (d) Neither the Family Law Facilitator nor their staff may be called as a witness. (Effective 1/1/07) Rule 6.13 Judicial Council Form FL-191 Child Support Case Registry (Effective 1/1/07; renum. 1/1/13) (a) Any submission of a Findings and Order After Hearing or Judgment containing an initial order or modification of child or family support must include a completed Judicial Council Form FL- 191 Child Support Case Registry Form with the order. (b) Any change to a party’s information previously submitted through the Child Support Case Registry Form must be resubmitted with the completion of an updated Child Support Case Registry Form within ten (10) days of the change. (c) Parties shall not be required to submit this Form FL-191 if the Department of Child Support Services is currently involved in the collection of support. Rule 6.14 Counsel for Minor Children (Effective 1/1/10: rev. 7/1/11; renum. 1/1/13; rev. 7/1/18) Rule 6.14.1 Qualifications (Effective 1/1/10; rev. 7/1/11; renum. 1/1/13; rev. 7/1/18) Any and all attorneys accepting appointments as counsel for minor children in family law proceedings must lodge with the Family Law Department proof of their qualifications pursuant to California Rule of Court, rule 5.242 by filing the required Judicial Council Form FL-322 in the appointed case within ten (10) days after appointment. Rule 6.14.2 Termination of Appointment (Effective 1/1/10; rev. 7/1/11; renum. 1/1/13; rev. 7/1/18) An attorney appointed as minor’s counsel may be relieved as attorney of record by a Judicial Officer following disposition of the matter in Court. If an attorney appointed as minor’s counsel wishes to withdraw from a proceeding as attorney of record for the minor and has not been previously relieved by a Judicial Officer, he or she must file a motion seeking such relief. Rule 6.14.3 Complaint Procedure (Effective 7/1/11; renum. 1/1/13) In a family law proceeding in which the Court has appointed counsel for a minor child or children, any party or attorney for a party in the action or the minor child may present a complaint about the performance of appointed counsel. The complaint must be in writing, fact specific, and filed and served on all counsel and self-represented parties. A copy of the complaint with proof of service on all attorneys and self-represented parties must be delivered to the Supervising Family Law Judge in care of the Judicial Secretary. The Supervising Family Law Judge or his or her designee shall review the complaint and respond by doing one of the following: (a) Issuing a written response to the complaint, which will be provided to the complainant and to all attorneys and self-represented parties, and to the assigned bench officer in the case, if any; (b) Requesting a written response or written comments from the other attorney(s) or self-represented party(ies); (c) Investigating the complaint; (d) Setting a hearing on the complaint. Rule 6.15 Collaborative Law Cases (Effective 7/1/10; renum. 1/1/13) Rule 6.15.1 Contested Matters (Effective 7/1/10; renum. 1/1/13) It is the intent of the Collaborative Law Process that no contested matters shall be filed with the Court in matters designated as Collaborative Law Cases. (a) “Contested Matters” filing is defined as the filing of an at-issue memorandum or any pleading, motion, or order to show cause requesting that the court resolve an issue of fact or law. The filing of a Petition, or Response, a stipulated order, or a Request to Enter Default where the issues subject to disposition by the Court in a proceeding are the subject of a written agreement, shall not be considered a contested matter. Rule 6.15.2 Designation (Effective 7/1/10; renum. 1/1/13) (a) A case may be designated a “Collaborative Law Case” upon the filing of a signed a written Collaborative Law Agreement that provides for (1) a full exchange of information, (2) the withdrawal of the collaborative attorney (whether or not said attorney is of record) upon the termination of the collaborative law process, (3) the joint retention of any consultants needed to assist the parties in the Collaborative Law Process, unless otherwise authorized by the written agreement of the parties, and (4) the agreement by the parties to use their best efforts and make a good faith attempt to resolve family law disputes without resorting to adversary judicial intervention. (b) The words “Collaborative Law Case” shall be placed below the case number in the case caption on all documents filed with the Court. (c) Attorneys representing parties to a Collaborative Law Case may be but are not required to be of record. Rule 6.15.3 Terminations/Filing of Contested Matters (Effective 7/1/10; renum. 1/1/13) (a) Either party may terminate the designation of a case as a Collaborative Law Case without cause by either providing a written notice of such termination to the other party and filing with the court the original notice of termination and a proof of service upon the other party. (b) The filing of a contested matter by either party shall also terminate the designation for the case as a Collaborative Law Case, effective on the date of such filing. (c) Upon termination of the Collaborative Law Case designation, any party’s attorney’s status as attorney of record shall terminate without further notice. (d) The filing by an attorney of record of a motion to withdraw from a Collaborative Law Case does not terminate the designation of a Collaborative Law Case. Rule 6.16 Title IV-D Support Actions (Effective 1/1/13; renum. 1/1/26) Rule 6.16.1 Meet and Confer Requirement (Effective 7/1/12; renum. 1/1/13; renum. 1/1/26) Prior to the hearing of any matter on the IV-D calendar, all attorneys and self-represented parties must in good faith participate in a “meet and confer conference” with an attorney or other representative designated by the Chief Attorney of the local child support agency in Room 300 of the Justice Building. The purpose of the “meet and confer conference” is for the parties to identify and narrow issues that will require a hearing, exchange and review documentary evidence, and attempt to resolve the issues of the matter by stipulated agreement. This rule does not apply to hearings regarding motions or requests to modify or quash income withholding orders or health insurance assignments, requests for issuance of a SLMS release, or to persons who are appearing telephonically. Rule 6.17 Elisor Signatures by Clerk of Court (Effective 1/1/17; renum. 1/1/26) (a) The Clerk of the Court is assigned the duty of Elisor signatures required or arising from orders made pursuant to Family Code section 1101. (b) The Clerk of the Court shall not execute any document or otherwise participate in the enforcement of community property orders issued pursuant to Family Code section 1101, prior to the expiration of the time to appeal in California Rule of Court, rule 8.104. (c) On noticed motion, the Court may find good cause exceptions to this rule. (d) Elisor signatures by the Clerk of the Court shall be limited to affect only real property found in the State of California. (e) The following shall be submitted for review by the Clerk of the Court prior to execution of documents: 1. Original Interspousal or other deed/title for signature by Clerk of the Court; 2. Relevant fees assessed by the Court; 3. A filed order or judgment awarding the property, which order or judgment includes the legal description and APN of the property; awarding the property to the party requesting signature; and ordering the Clerk of the Court to sign forthwith on behalf of a party due to that party’s noncompliance with the order or judgment; 4. The original deed to property at issue; 5. A copy of the current tax bill; and 6. Proof of compliance and/or enforcement attempts. (f) The Court does not provide notary services. Notary services and arrangements for the same are the responsibility of the party requesting services. Rule 6.18 Temporary Spousal Support (Effective 7/1/18; renum. 1/1/26) In determining the proper amount of temporary spousal support, the court may use the Santa Clara Guidelines. Rule 6.19 Specialized Filings (Effective 7/1/18; rev. 7/1/24; rev. 1/1/25; rev. and renum. 1/1/26) (a) For purposes of this rule, the following filings shall be deemed specialized filings within the Family Law Division of the Kern County Superior Court. 1. Petitions to Declare Minors Free from Parental Custody/Control-FC 7800 et seq. PrC 1516.5; 2. Petitions to Terminate Parental Rights-FC 7660 et seq.; 3. Adoptions-FC 8500 et seq. including but not limited to Step Parent Adoptions; Relative Adoptions, Independent Adoptions, Agency Adoptions, InterCountry/Foreign Adoptions; Adult Adoptions; 4. Petitions to Establish Parentage-Surrogacy FC 7960 et seq. (b) Petitions filed under this part shall contain complete party/minor(s) legal names listed consistently throughout all filings. Parties list birth names in their entirety to include first name, middle name, surname, married/maiden name. Initials shall not be acceptable in filings. Parties include, but are not limited to, Citee(s), Objector(s), Biological Parent(s), Adopting Parent(s), Child(ren), and Petitioner(s)/Respondent(s). (c) Upon filing of these specialized Petitions, parties shall lodge a certified copy of Birth Certificate for the minor(s)/adult(s) subject to the applicable proceedings. This rule does not apply to surrogacy related filings. Self-addressed, stamped, envelopes must be provided for a birth certificate to be returned. (Effective 7/1/18; rev. 7/1/24) (d) Upon filing a Petition to Establish Parental Obligations involving Surrogacy Agreements, the Surrogacy Agreement/Gestational Contract shall be lodged with the Court. The agreement/contract will be returned upon final disposition to the submitting party. (e) For Petitions to Terminate Parental Rights and Step Parent Adoptions, investigation fees required for the investigations conducted by court investigators are due at the time of filing. (Effective 1/1/25) 1. Termination of Parental Rights Investigation: $450 2. Step Parent Adoption Investigation: $350 3. These fees are established in accordance with Family Code sections 7851.5 and 9002. 4. If parties are experiencing financial hardship, they may qualify for a fee waiver. 5. If an investigation is waived or expedited, parties may apply for a refund of the investigation fee. (f) Petitions for Freedom From Parental Custody and Control (Effective 1/1/26) Any petition for Freedom from Parental Custody and Control must be accompanied by an Order Granting Petition For Freedom From Parental Custody and Control (local mandatory form KRN SUP CRT FL-2326) when filed. (g) Self-Represented Parties shall notarize their signature within specialized Petitions filed under this part. (Effective 7/1/18; rev. 7/1/24; renum. 1/1/25; renum. 1/1/26) (h) Filings under this section shall be deemed confidential as provided by their respective statutory authority. Prior to case disposition, only parties allowed by Statute may obtain case information. Following case disposition, the matter shall be deemed sealed, and no information shall be provided to parties or those affected within the case without obtaining leave of Court. The exception to this rule: Petitioners/Citee/Adoptive Parent(s) or their respective counsel may obtain a copy of the Final Order upon verification of Identification. (Effective 7/1/18; rev. 7/1/24; renum. 1/1/25; renum. 1/1/26) Rule 6.20 Processing and Maintaining Reports and Declarations from Supervised Visitation Providers (Effective 7/1/21; rev. 1/1/22; renum. 1/1/26) Supervised visitation providers have a number of legal responsibilities and duties under Family Code section 3200.5 and Standard 5.20 of the California Standards of Judicial Administration (Uniform Standards of Practice for Providers of Supervised Visitation). Providers should be familiar with all requirements. In addition, the following obligations must be satisfied. (a) Professional Supervised Visitation Providers’ Obligations: All professional supervised visitation providers must sign a Declaration of Supervised Visitation Provider (Professional) (Form FL-324(P)) stating that all training and qualification requirements to be a professional provider have been met. See Standard 5.20(e)(13). Only training approved by the Judicial Council of California will be accepted by Kern County Superior Court. The Declaration must be submitted to the Manager of the Family Court Services Department before the first supervised visit for new providers. The FL-324(P) must be submitted in the first week of January each year for professional providers already included on the list. Every time the professional visitation provider submits a report to the court required by Standard 5.20(j)(3), a separate copy of the report must be submitted to the Manager of the Family Court Services Department. The forms and reports will be maintained by the Family Court Services Department. The Family Court Services Department will maintain a roster of providers who have submitted a Form FL-324(P) in the past year. The roster will also be available on the Court’s website, and the forms are available for review upon request. The Court has the discretion to add or remove providers from the list based upon the needs of the Court, but does not endorse, evaluate, supervise, or monitor the listed providers or their facilities. (Effective 7/1/21; rev. 1/1/22) (b) Nonprofessional Supervised Visitation Providers’ Obligations: All nonprofessional supervised visitation providers must sign a Declaration of Supervised Visitation Provider (Nonprofessional) (Form FL-324(NP)) stating that all requirements to be a nonprofessional provider have been met. See Standard 5.20(d)(3). The Declaration must be submitted to the Manager of the Family Court Services Department. The forms will be maintained by the Family Court Services Department. (Effective 7/1/21; rev. 1/1/22) Rule 6.21 Family Law Case Management Plan for Complex Matters (Effective 7/1/23; renum. 1/1/26) (a) Designation of Case Subject to Family Law Case Management Rules. For any case in which counsel or the parties have a reasonable basis to foresee that the Court will need to oversee and direct discovery, make orders concerning financial matters, and/or order the appointment of experts, either party may serve on the other party and file with the Court a Family Law Case Management Notice (“FLCM Notice”) requesting that the case be subject to Local Rule 6.22 (“FLCM Rules”). The Court may also, on its own motion, make an order that the case before it shall be subject to the FLCM Rules. (b) FLCM Notice. The FLCM Notice shall (i) notify the Court and the opposing party of the requesting party’s request to subject the case to the FLCM Rules, (ii) notify the opposing party of his or her right to serve and file an objection to the application of the FLCM Rules within 20 days of the FLCM Notice’s being served, (iii) notify any public retirement plan that may be impacted as a result of the Court’s order(s), and (iv) state the basis for the requesting party’s request that the case be subject to the FLCM Rules. Nothing in the FLCM Rules relieves either party of his or her fiduciary duties or his or her duty to comply with the California Code of Civil Procedure or other mandatory disclosures under the California Family Code. (c) Timing of FLCM Notice. Either party shall have the right to serve and file the FLCM Notice within 60 days of filing a petition or a post-judgment modification in a family law action or 60 days after a response to a petition or a post-judgment modification has been filed. Notwithstanding the foregoing, with the permission of the Court, the FLCM Notice may be filed at any time. A Court may, in its discretion, also order the parties to comply with the FLCM Rules. (d) Family Law Case Management Conference. Upon filing of the FLCM Notice, the clerk shall set an initial status conference in 60 days. At the initial status conference, the Court shall meet with counsel to determine the status of and make any rulings on any objections and/or set a Family Law Case Management Conference (herein “FLCMC”). (e) Objections to FLCM Notice. If a party objects to the application of the FLCM Rules, that party must serve on the other party and file with the Court a written objection within 20 days of the service of the FLCM Notice. The objection shall state any applicable factual or legal basis for the objection. If an objection has been served and filed, the party seeking application of the FLCM Rules may file a response prior to the initial status conference explaining that party’s basis for ordering the parties to comply with the FLCM Rules. (f) Electronic Service. When the parties consent to, or the Court orders the application of, the FLCM Rules, all parties will be subject to electronic service of all pleadings and documents. Each party shall notify the other party in writing as soon as possible of all electronic addresses to be included in electronic service and shall update any proofs of service accordingly. (g) Initial Disclosures. Each party subject to the FLCM Rules has an affirmative duty to provide to the other party with all relevant documentation as early as possible. In addition to statutory disclosure under the California Family Code, a party must, without awaiting a discovery request, provide to the other parties the following verified information: 1. Document Requests. The Court handling the FLCM case will attach a document request to its standard scheduling order. The parties will be expected to comply fully with these document requests pursuant to the deadlines set forth in the FLCM Rules. It is understood that the parties may ask the Court to append or modify the document requests according to the specific issues or facts of each case. The Court will adopt a standard template document request that will be presumptively non-objectionable. 2. Documents. Produce a copy of all documents and tangible things necessary to determine the character, cash flow, value of any assets, business or businesses, or any other relevant financial information. If any documents cannot be obtained after reasonable efforts by the producing party, a description by category and location and with information sufficient to support a subpoena, shall be provided by the producing party identifying where the relevant documents can be found. 3. Categorization. The disclosing party shall ensure that all documents shall be categorized and put into an electronic file repository that is accessible by the parties and, if applicable, any experts retained or appointed who will need to review this information. 4. Electronically Stored Information. The disclosing party shall produce all documents as they are kept in the normal course of business including the production of documents in their native file format. Upon stipulation of the parties, documents produced can be placed into a shared electronic document repository. 5. Stipulations. Unless designated otherwise, a party producing documents agrees to foundation and waives any hearsay objections to any documents produced. For all other documents, the parties shall meet and confer prior to a case management conference as to whether, for trial purposes, foundation and hearsay for documents placed into the electronic repository can be waived to avoid the time and expense of authenticating documents that are not reasonably in dispute for purposes of trial or hearing. If the parties cannot agree on the admissibility of documents, the basis for each objection shall be set forth in the status report. (h) Timing of Initial Disclosures. Unless an objection has been filed, all initial disclosures must be made within 60 days after service of the FLCM Notice, unless a different time is set by stipulation or order of Court. (i) Verified Initial Disclosure Document. The initial disclosure to the opposing party shall be verified. (j) Duty to Meet and Confer. The parties shall meet and confer after service of the FLCM Notice to discuss any issues related to compliance with the FLCM Rules. If an objection has been filed, the parties shall meet and confer as soon as possible after the Court orders that the parties be subject to the FLCM Rules. These issues may include, but are not limited to, (i) specific documents needed by either party, (ii) problems with obtaining ESI, (iii) third party privacy concerns and/or whether any protective orders are necessary, (iv) support issues, and (v) attorney’s fees. (k) FLCMC Status Report. A status report shall be made to the Court no later than 10 days prior to the FLCMC. The status report shall state (i) what documents have been requested, (ii) what documents have not been produced, (iii) each party’s position with regards to the respective requests for relief and any problems in obtaining discovery covered by the FLCM Rules to obtain that relief, (iv) any other expected issues that have arisen or are expected to occur, (v) whether any experts should be appointed under section 730 of the California Evidence Code, (vi) expected motions that a party anticipates filing, and (vii) a proposed solution to any problems with obtaining compliance with these rules. If attorney’s fees are being requested, and if not already served, updated Income and Expense Declarations shall be served concurrently with the status report. (l) FLCMC. It is the expectation of the Court that before the FLCMC, both parties have been working in good faith to meet disclosure deadlines and be ready for the Court to make temporary rulings at the FLCMC. At the FLCMC, the Court should have enough information (i) to determine compliance with initial disclosures under the FLCM rules, (ii) to make any appropriate orders to ensure each party’s compliance with his or her duties to disclose documentation and information to the other party, including sanctions, (iii) to make orders regarding temporary spousal support and child support, and (iv) to make orders appointing any experts. The Court has the discretion to set a further FLCMC with deadlines for compliance. (m) Attorney’s Fees. So that the Court can comply with its duty to make an award of attorney’s fees early in the proceeding, the parties shall have provided sufficient information to the Court sufficient for the Court to make orders concerning attorney’s fees. (n) Sanctions. Separate and apart from any other remedy provided to the Court, the Court shall have the discretion to sanction a party for its failure to comply with the FLCM Rules. Failure to follow this local rule may result in sanctions including, but not limited to, monetary sanctions under section 177.5 of the California Code of Civil Procedure, vacating existing hearing dates, or evidence exclusion orders as may be determined by the Court. Rule 6.22 Use of Live Scan (Effective 7/1/23; renum. 1/1/26) (a) Where an adoption, child custody, or Freedom from Parental Rights case requires an investigation by statute, and the required investigation includes criminal history, that criminal history information will generally be obtained from the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS). (b) Should a party believe that the criminal history is incorrectly reported, or is unclear, they shall have the option of obtaining another criminal history check by completing the California Department of Justice’s Form BCIA 8016 and having fingerprints taken at a Public Applicant Live Scan Site, as certified by the State Department of Justice for an FBI Level of Service. Fees charged by Public Applicant Live Scan Site providers vary and are the responsibility of the proposed adoptive parent or parent. The results of the criminal history check shall be sent directly to the Kern County Superior Court and will be used by the court investigator for the completion of the required reports for the Court.
Rule 6.10 Child Custody and Visitation (Effective 7/1/03; renum. 1/1/13; rev. 7/1/18; rev. 1/1/20; rev. 1/1/25; rev. and renum. 7/1/25) (a) In all original and subsequent proceedings where child custody, visitation, or both, are issues, the parties must attach a completed Declaration Under Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) form. A party has a continuing duty to file a
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-10-14 (California T4 Kern build 2026-10-14) from BenchPath custody ca/t4/ca-kern/docs/general/local-rules-court-effective-7126.pdf (the court's rule book, its cover “LOCAL RULES OF COURT SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF KERN July 1, 2026”, as fetched 2026-10-14; 1712899 bytes, sha256 374bf0cba1a66f90bd6bea59ca9523d5149362ef14f0d1edc454e76ac5738a83; 138 pages; this part PDF pages 78 to 88, printed pages 77 to 87) with the shared verbatim composer (v2 reflow): the rules (PDF pages 14 to 128) composed as one text and cut at the chapter headings (“Chapter I. General Rules” to “Chapter IX. Court Communication Protocol for Domestic Violence and Child Custody Orders”) and, in Chapters I, III, VI, VII and VIII, at rule or section headings (“Rule 1.8”, “Rule 1.12”, “Rule 3.14”, “Rule 6.10”, “Rule 7.4”, “Section Three – Proceedings”, “Section Six – Attorney Competency Standards”, “Rule 8.10”), each matched once as a whole line; every page's running header (“SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF KERN”, named) and printed page number (“13” to “127”) removed as chrome - 230 chrome lines; lines reflowed into the rules' paragraphs, each chapter heading, rule heading, Preamble, section heading and lettered or numbered subdivision starting a line; Rules 1.17 and 1.21's ruled tables (PDF pages 32 and 33, 38 and 39) set a row a line, its cells left to right (the composer's table rows); the strike report (review/strike-report-2026-10-14.txt) finds no struck run; 27 whitespace-only fixes (build/book-fixes.json: 7 line breaks the reflow left before a reference or an inline list item at the paragraph's own margin, rejoined; 19 runs of rows the reflow ran together, split - Rule 1.8.1's two fee tables and the court's mailing address, Rule 3.3.1's regional courts and their telephone numbers, Rule 3.6(a)'s scale of fees, and the side heading “Preamble” of Chapters VI and VII; 1 word the page break split at its hyphen, closed up - “20-calendar-day”); the vertical-gap, short-line, page-break, false-break, structural-break and row-join audits (review/book-gap-audit-2026-10-14.txt, review/book-short-lines-2026-10-14.txt and its run after the fixes, review/book-extra-audits-2026-10-14.txt) list candidates read one by one (build/book_fixes.py) - the rest kept as printed; proof 1 (whitespace-only) and proof 2 (same character multiset as the text layer minus chrome) pass. The cover (PDF page 1), the table of contents (2 to 13) and the index (129 to 138) belong to no card; Appendix A, a separate document, is decided in the document catalog (held for the table lane, with a review task).
Division XI: information forms for data processing (Rule 11.2); required action - action taken on all calendared cases and a future date always set (Rule 11.19); and pro tem judges - an attorney named as a plaintiff in a civil or small claims case may not sit as a judge pro-tem during the case or within six months following its resolution, nor one named as a defendant in two or more such cases (Rule 11.22). Rules 11.1, 11.3 to 11.5, 11.7 to 11.18, 11.20 and 11.21 are repealed, and Rule 11.6 (voluntary arbitration; see Local Rule 10.2) was repealed and renumbered.
Duval County's indigent-defense and magistration rules under the Texas Fair Defense Act (S.B. 7): who may be booked into the county jail and on what paper; arrest-case numbering; presentment to a magistrate within 48 hours (art. 15.16); the magistrate's warnings, counsel inquiry, interpreter duty, indigence determination and appointment of counsel within 24 hours of a request; the alternative appointment plan under art. 26.04(g)-(h) with annual applications, seven attorney categories (capital, first and second degree, third degree/state jail/misdemeanor, competency, appeals, post-conviction, extradition), CLE and experience standards, random rotation within each category, written acceptance within 48 hours, first contact by the end of the next working day, replacement and suspension of counsel, fee applications within five days of completing services and the compensation attachment ($500 pleas; $175/$150 hourly; $1,400 per jury-trial day; appellate caps); bail schedules by offense class with a personal bond office (fee $20 or 3%), pre-trial supervision and revocation hearings within two working days; arraignment settings and notice; repeal of conflicting rules.