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Chapter 7, Part 1, Rules 720 to 730: custody agreements and orders containing the Family Code section 3024 language - a parent changing a child's residence for more than thirty (30) days to notify the other parent by mail, return receipt requested, at least forty-five (45) days before where feasible, failure not by itself sufficient to change custody (720); a mandatory settlement conference unless exempted for good cause, written settlement offers exchanged at least fourteen (14) days before and a Settlement Conference Statement filed and served at least seven (7) days before listing assets, debts, separate property, support and fee data, obligations, valuations and a Property Declaration on form FL-160 (721); witness and exhibit lists filed and served no later than ten (10) days before trial, petitioners lettering and respondents numbering their exhibits, exhibits exchanged but not filed, and an original plus three (3) copies of each exhibit at trial (722); envelopes for default mailings containing the return address of the Clerk of the Court (723); family law, uniform parentage, civil harassment, domestic violence and guardianship cases assigned to the family law commissioner on the parties' stipulation, objections filed and served at least five (5) court days before the hearing and construed as objections to the particular matter, an objection to all stages requiring one before each hearing or a timely challenge under Code of Civil Procedure section 170.6 (724); a marital settlement agreement in which only one party has counsel acknowledging that the other has been advised to obtain independent legal counsel, initialed, and the preparer's name on a document prepared for a fee for an unrepresented party (725); judgments with child support allocating health care and childcare costs one-half to each party under Family Code section 4061, stipulations waiving guideline support containing the section 4065(a) language, the support order submitted with any Income Withholding Order, and, where the Department of Child Support Services enforces, payments to the California State Disbursement Unit and the parties notifying it of changes within ten (10) days (726); domestic violence orders coordinated, the clerk determining if protective orders were already issued, no family court order in conflict with a criminal court order, safe exchanges of children, and a restraining order conveyed within 24 hours to the Kings County Sheriff's Department for CLETS (727); the Court Policies for Family Law - proof of payment for childcare paid to a friend or family member, additional child support generally divided one-half to each parent, no overtime considered for temporary spousal support, wage withholding and Child Support Registry forms within fifteen (15) days of a served support order, attorney fee orders under section 2030 to ensure access to legal representation, and no debts distributed at a temporary orders hearing (728); special proceeding petitions not brought to conclusion within five (5) years may be dismissed after an Order to Show Cause the court issues on its own motion and the clerk forwards by first class mail, and a new petition and fees to reinitiate a dismissed proceeding (729); and the duties of the Family Law Facilitator - mediating support issues, drafting stipulations, reviewing documents and preparing support schedules, assisting the clerk, preparing orders for self-represented parties, serving as a special master and participating in the Family Court Clinic (730)
RULE 720 – Custody Orders and Agreements A. As allowed by Family Code section 3024, all custody agreements and orders must contain language that is in substantial conformity to the following: “If either parent plans to change the residence of a child, subject to this order, for more than thirty (30) days, and that change will affect the ability of either parent to fulfill this parenting plan, unle
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-10-15 (California T4 Kings build 2026-10-15) from BenchPath custody ca/t4/ca-kings/docs/local-rules/kingscountylocalrules_07-01-26.pdf (the court's rule book, its cover “SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF KINGS Local Rules of Court (July 1, 2026)”, as fetched 2026-10-15; 1404126 bytes, sha256 5afc44ac2f5fa421cca2659bfcef2f97cc69851872a6b71f3834afa29c1bc7e3; 136 pages; this part PDF pages 99 to 106, page numbers 92 to 99) with the shared verbatim composer (v2 reflow): the rules and the appendix (PDF pages 8 to 112) composed as one text and cut at the chapter headings, and within Chapters 1, 3, 5 and 7 at a part or rule heading (“RULE 126 – Submission of Documents for Filing”, “RULE 310 – Joining Motions of Other Parties”, “Part 2 – Rules Applicable to Felony Cases and Misdemeanor Cases Joined or Consolidated with a Felony for Trial”, “RULE 710 – Applications for Family Law Court Orders”, “RULE 720 – Custody Orders and Agreements”, “RULE 732 – Experts Pursuant to California Evidence Code § 730”, “Part 2 – Child Support and the Kings County Department of Child Support Services”, “APPENDIX A”), each matched once as a whole line; the three rules whose instructions print example case numbers - Rule 125 (E-Filing Rules), Rule 309 (Legal Research Copy) and Rule 731 (Judicial Notice in Family Law Matters - Department 4) - cut out as parts of their own and held from publication (a case number's form, even an example's, is never published); every page's running head (“KINGS COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT – LOCAL RULES”, named) and footer lines (the chapter's name, “Appendix A” and “Page 1” to “Page 105”, named) removed as chrome - 314 chrome lines; lines reflowed into the rules' paragraphs, each rule number and lettered or numbered subdivision starting a line; the strike report (review/strike-report-2026-10-15.txt) finds one blank struck run in the book, on PDF page 115 (the Index by Number, outside the rules); 3 whitespace-only fixes (build/book-fixes.json: Rule 102's definition of “CASA” split from the definition before it; Rule 604's “within Rule 5.546 of the California Rules of Court” rejoined to its sentence; the Juvenile Court Rules' CASA contact's two lines split); the vertical-gap, short-line, page-break, false-break and structural-break audits (review/book-gap-audit-2026-10-15.txt, review/book-short-lines-2026-10-15.txt, review/book-extra-audits-2026-10-15.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 7), the Index by Number (113 to 119), the Subject Matter Index (120 to 126) and the List of Effective Dates (127 to 136) belong to no card.
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.
California > Fifth Appellate District > Kings County > Superior Court of California, County of Kings
RULE 720 – Custody Orders and Agreements A. As allowed by Family Code section 3024, all custody agreements and orders must contain language that is in substantial conformity to the following: “If either parent plans to change the residence of a child, subject to this order, for more than thirty (30) days, and that change will affect the ability of either parent to fulfill this parenting plan, unless there is a written agreement of the parties, the parent contemplating the move shall notify the other parent of said move by mail, return receipt requested and postage prepaid, to the last known address of the parent to be notified. A copy of the notice shall also be sent to that parent’s attorney of record. To the extent feasible, the notice shall be provided within a minimum of forty-five (45) days prior to the proposed change of residence to allow time for mediation of a new agreement concerning custody and visitation. B. Failure to comply with this notice requirement is not in and of itself sufficient to change an existing order of custody and visitation. (Eff. 1/1/99 as Rule 743; amended and renumbered 7/1/08) RULE 721 – Settlement Conference Statement A. All parties and attorneys must attend a mandatory settlement conference prior to trial on a date designated by the court, unless exempted from compliance with this rule. An exemption will be granted only upon a showing of good cause and leave granted by the court. A motion for leave to dispense with any mandatory settlement conference requirement must be filed, calendared, and heard on or before the date of the settlement conference. B. At least fourteen (14) days before the settlement conference, each party must exchange written offers of settlement in sufficient specificity to be enforceable that, if accepted, would resolve all issues remaining in dispute. These offers shall not be filed with the court, but each party shall bring to the settlement conference a copy of that party's written proposal. At least seven (7) days before the settlement conference, each party must file with the court and serve on the opposing party a Settlement Conference Statement that must contain the following: 1. A list of all community assets (and debts related to them), including the date of acquisition, purchase price, and present fair market value. If there is a dispute as to whether the asset is, in fact, community property, a tracing of the funds should be described. 2. A list of all property that the party claims is separate property, including the date and method of acquisition. The fair market value of separate assets should also be included. 3. Factual data upon which the parties rely in support of (or in opposition to) a claim for child support, and/or spousal support, and attorney fees. Any request for spousal support must be supported by a statement addressing all relevant facts as listed in Family Code section 4320. 4. A list of the community obligations existing at time of separation. If a spouse is claiming credit for payment after separation, an itemized list, with proof of payment, must be attached. 5. Any party contending that community property or quasi-community property of the parties should be valued at a date after separation and before the trial must comply strictly with the provisions of Family Code sections 2550-2552 with respect to notice of the other party. 6. A statement that the value of an asset or liability is unknown (without a showing that a good faith appraisal thereof could not be made), or that a valuation of the asset is not made because a party seeks a sale, a deferred sale of home order, or equal division of the asset, will be deemed a material failure to comply with these rules. 7. Where it is urged that the family home be retained pursuant to Family Code section 3800, all facts relevant to this issue must be included in the statement. 8. A Property Declaration (Judicial Council Form FL-160) or a statement as to the date the Property Declaration was previously filed with the court. An Amended Property Declaration if any information has changed since the prior filing. (Eff. 1/1/99 as Rule 750; amended and renumbered 7/1/08; amended 7/1/20) RULE 722 – Trials Family Law Trials – Family Law Trials are typically scheduled either at a Case Management Conference or a Settlement Conference. Unless otherwise ordered, the following rules shall govern the trials: A. No later than ten (10) days before trial, each party shall file and serve a Witness List which identifies each witness a party expects to have testify at the trial, along with a brief statement of anticipated testimony. Judicial Council Form FL-321 (“Witness List”) may be used for this purpose, but it is not required. B. No later than ten (10) days before trial, each party shall file and serve an Exhibit List which identifies each exhibit a party expects to introduce at trial. Petitioners (and any party identified as an “Other Parent”) shall designate each exhibit consecutively with letters, i.e., A, B, C; and respondents shall designate each exhibit consecutively with numbers, i.e., 1, 2, 3. C. No later than ten (10) days before trial, each party shall exchange (but not file) their exhibits. All pages of any exhibits that are ten (10) pages or more shall be consecutively numbered on the bottom-right corner. Any attorney intending to introduce more than ten (10) exhibits on behalf of a party shall pre-mark each exhibit sticker on the back, bottom-right corner which includes the exhibit alphabetic or numeric designation, the case number and date of trial. The date shall be in the format: xx/xx/xxxx. All exhibit stickers must be typed or, if handwritten, be legible. D. Trial exhibits shall not be filed with the court. The parties shall bring to trial an original plus three (3) copies of each exhibit (a total of 4 sets). E. The preservation, destruction, or return to the parties of exhibits received into evidence at a trial shall be governed by California Code of Civil Procedure sections 1952 and 1952.2. (Eff. 7/1/21) RULE 723 – Entry of Default Envelopes provided to the Clerk of the Court for mailing to parties on entry of default must contain the return address of the Clerk of the Court, not the address of the moving party. The court’s address is: Kings County Superior Court, Attn: Clerk of the Court, 1640 Kings County Drive, Hanford, CA 93230. Case Number _____________________. (Eff. 7/1/08, amended 7/1/16; renumbered 7/1/21) RULE 724 – Stipulation or Objection to Superior Court Commissioner(s) A. Family law cases, uniform parentage actions, civil harassment actions, domestic violence cases, and guardianships are routinely assigned to the family law commissioner for all purposes, including the power to make all rulings, decisions and to enter judgment in the case. Except as provided in Code of Civil Procedure section 259, subdivisions (a), (b), (c), (e) and (f), matters assigned to the court commissioner require that the parties stipulate to the commissioner hearing the matter. The stipulation may be in writing, implied by conduct or entered on the record. (Cal. R. Ct., rule 2.816(d).) B. If a party refuses to stipulate to have a proceeding heard by a commissioner acting as a temporary judge, the matter will be re-assigned and continued to the next available calendar date. In order to avoid the undue consumption of judicial resources and to minimize the inconvenience to the litigants, parties are advised to file any objection to the family law commissioner at least five (5) court days before the hearing on the matter. Notice of the objection shall also be served on all parties who have appeared in the case by the person asserting the same at least five (5) court days before the hearing on the matter. C. An objection to a court commissioner acting as a temporary judge will be construed as an objection to the particular matter assigned to the court commissioner. A party who objects to a court commissioner acting as a temporary judge at all stages of the litigation in the case including trial and any ancillary matters must either file an objection before each hearing to which a stipulation would otherwise be required or exercise a timely challenge under Code of Civil Procedure sections 170.6 or, if appropriate, under 170.1. (Eff. 7/1/08; renumbered 7/1/21) RULE 725 – Parties Not Represented A. Any proposed Marital Settlement/Termination Agreement in which only one party has legal counsel should contain language which is in substantial conformity with the following: “Petitioner/Respondent acknowledges by the initials at the end of this paragraph that she/he has been advised to obtain independent legal counsel and that she/he has voluntarily chosen not to do so; that she/he has read and understands the contents and legal effect of this agreement and has entered into it and signed it freely and voluntarily.” (Initials of party) B. If an unrepresented party pays a fee for preparation of a document, the document must include the name of the preparer. (Prepared by XYZ Legal Services). (Eff. 7/1/08; renumbered 7/1/21) RULE 726 – Procedures for Entry of Judgment A. All proposed judgments where child support is ordered shall include an allocation of health care costs and childcare costs related to employment or to reasonably necessary education or training for employment skills. The allocation shall be one-half to each party unless otherwise agreed or ordered pursuant to Family Code section 4061. B. All stipulations waiving guideline child support shall include the following language: “The parties are agreeing to an amount that is not pursuant to current guideline formula. The parties agree that, pursuant to Family Code section 4065(a): They are fully informed of their rights concerning child support. The order is being made without coercion or duress. The agreement is in the best interest of the child/ren involved. The needs of the child/ren will be adequately met by the stipulated amount. The right of support has not been assigned to the county pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 11477, and no public assistance application is pending.” C. A copy of the current child support or spousal support order on which a proposed Income Withholding Order is based must be submitted to the court along with any requested Income Withholding Order or the Income Withholding Order will not be issued. D. All judgments and orders after hearings where a child support order is contained and where the Department of Child Support Services is enforcing the order, shall include the following language: “All child support payments must be made to the California State Disbursement Unit at P.O. Box 989067, West Sacramento, CA 95798-9067. Parties must notify the Department of Child Support Services in writing within ten (10) days of any change of residence, income, or employment.” (Eff. 7/1/08; amended 7/1/20; renumbered 7/1/21) RULE 727 – Domestic Violence Coordination Rules A. Court Communication. It is this court’s goal to coordinate domestic violence orders. It is the clerk’s responsibility, upon any request for protective orders, to determine if any such orders have already been issued as to the same parties or children in any other department by accessing the court’s case management system. The court’s Family Law Department shall use all reasonable efforts to communicate and exchange information with other court departments regarding any domestic violence orders. B. Avoiding Conflicting Orders. The Family Court shall not knowingly issue a protective order or custody order in conflict with an order of the criminal court. If such an order issues inadvertently, the orders of the criminal law proceeding shall have priority. C. Modification of Criminal Orders. A court issuing a criminal protective order may, after review of any existing family or juvenile court orders, modify the criminal protective order to allow or restrict contact between the restrained person and his or her child(ren), spouse, or other protected person. D. Coexisting Criminal, Family and/or Juvenile Orders. A family or juvenile court order may coexist with a criminal court protective order, subject to the following: 1. Any order that permits contact between the restrained person and his or her children shall provide for the safe exchange of the child/ren and shall not contain language either printed or handwritten that violates a “no contact order” issued by a criminal court. 2. Safety of all parties shall be the court’s paramount concern. The Family Court order shall specify the time, day, place, and manner of transfer of the child/ren, as provided in Family Code section 3100. E. Issuance and Enforcement of Restraining Order. Upon granting of relief (through initial petition, modification, or termination), the clerk shall convey within 24 hours a file endorsed copy of the order to the Kings County Sheriff’s Department for input into CLETS (a statewide computerized registration system for restraining orders). (Eff. 7/1/08; renumbered 7/1/21) RULE 728 – Court Policies for Family Law Introduction: The court believes it is important for counsel and self-represented parties to know what the general policies of the court are on certain issues that commonly arise in the family law area. Therefore, the court has adopted certain “Court Policies” which it follows except in the unusual case. The court reserves to itself the continuing discretionary power it has in making any final determination on these issues on a case-by-case basis. The goal and intention of the “Court Policies for Family Law” is to encourage and enhance the ability of counsel and the parties to settle these matters whenever possible. COURT POLICY #1: When a party seeks a contribution from the other party for childcare costs related to employment or to reasonably necessary education or training for employment skills, such costs incurred to a friend or family member will be scrutinized by the court and shall be supported by appropriate documentation, i.e., proof of payment. COURT POLICY #2: Additional child support amounts are generally divided one-half to each parent. (Fam. Code § 4061.) “Additional child support amounts” shall include: (1) Childcare costs related to employment or to reasonably necessary education or training for employment skills, (2) The reasonable uninsured health care costs for the children as provided in Section 4063, (3) Costs related to the educational or other special needs of the children, and (4) Travel expenses for visitation. (Fam. Code § 4062.) COURT POLICY #3: In determining the amount of temporary spousal support, the court generally does not consider overtime earnings of the payor. COURT POLICY #4: Within fifteen (15) days following the court’s service of a filed Family Law Minute Order or Judgment containing an order for child support, spousal support, and/or family support, the prevailing party shall submit to the court an appropriate order form for wage withholding and, where child support is ordered, a Child Support Registry form. COURT POLICY #5: Attorney fee orders under Family Code section 2030 are viewed as a means to ensure that each party has access to legal representation. Attorney fee orders are not a mechanism to equalize the relative wealth of the parties. It is the court’s view that attorneys should be held accountable to their own clients in justifying the necessity for and the amount of the services that they perform. The court may allow attorney’s fees orders under Section 2030 to be paid overtime under terms and conditions the court deems appropriate. COURT POLICY #6: The court will exercise its discretion in determining whether documents presented for filing on the day of a hearing will be filed and/or considered. See Local Rules 111 and 125 regarding filing times. COURT POLICY #7: The court generally does not distribute debts at a hearing for temporary orders during the pendency of the case. When orders are made for the temporary use of property, however, orders are generally included for payment of loans related to that property. (Eff. 1/1/99 as attachment to Local Rules; numbered and amended 7/1/08; Policy #4 amended 10/31/11; Policy #1, #5 and #6 amended 7/1/20; renumbered 7/1/21) RULE 729 – Dismissal of “Special Proceeding” Petitions A. Where an adoption petition, a petition to have a child freed from parental custody and/or a petition in any other type of “special proceeding,” to which California Code of Civil Procedure section 583.310 would not usually apply (“petition”), has not been brought to conclusion within five (5) years of the date of its filing, the court may on its own motion issue an Order to Show Cause (OSC) to determine whether dismissal of the petition is appropriate. Upon failure of the parties to appear at the noticed OSC hearing, upon the pre-hearing filing of a request for dismissal of the petition by the petitioner and/or upon failure of the parties appearing at the OSC hearing to demonstrate that dismissal is inconsistent with the character of the petition, the court may in its discretion dismiss a petition which has been pending for a period of more than five (5) years. All Orders to Show Cause issued under this rule will be forwarded by the clerk via first class mail to the last known mailing address of each of the interested parties and their attorney-of-record. In order to avoid the inadvertent dismissal of petitions pending before the court, all parties and counsel must keep the court advised of their current mailing addresses. B. No special proceeding dismissed by the court in accordance with this rule shall be reinitiated without the filing of a new petition and payment of new filing and investigation fees. (Eff. 1/1/09; renumbered 7/1/21) RULE 730 – Duties of the Family Law Facilitator In addition to the duties mandated by the Family Law Facilitator Act, California Family Code section 10000 et seq., the Family Law Facilitator shall have the following duties: A. Meeting with litigants to mediate issues of child support, spousal or partner support, and maintenance of health insurance, subject to California Family Code section 10012. B. Drafting stipulations, which may include issues other than those specified in California Family Code section 10003. If the parties are not able to resolve issues with the assistance of the Family Law Facilitator, the Facilitator, before or at the hearing, and at the court’s request, shall review documents, prepare support schedules, and advise the court whether the matter is ready to proceed. C. Assisting the clerk in maintaining records. D. Preparing orders documenting the court’s announced order where both parties are self-represented or in those cases with one attorney where the court refers the self-represented party because the order benefits that party. E. Serving as a special master and making findings to the court unless the Facilitator has served as a mediator in the case. F. Participating in the operation of the Family Court Clinic, including the training and supervision of volunteers. G. Such additional duties as may be delegated by the Presiding Judge, Assistant Presiding Judge or Family Law Judge consistent with California Family Code section 10005. (Eff. 7/15/11; renumbered 7/1/21)
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.