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The court's Family Law page: family law matters heard at the Monterey Courthouse in Departments 16 and 17, adoptions in Department 13 and child support at the Marina Courthouse (Department 21); Family Law and Motion hearings on Mondays - cases ending in an odd number in Department 16, assigned to Judge Vallarta for all purposes, and cases ending in an even number in Department 17, assigned to Judge Whilden for all purposes; child support on Tuesdays in Department 21 beginning at 8:30 a.m.; domestic violence restraining orders on Tuesdays beginning at 8:30 a.m. and civil harassment restraining orders on Tuesdays beginning at 1:30 p.m. in Department 16; adoptions on Mondays at 8:30 a.m. and guardianships on Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m. in Department 13; a ruling on a filed motion without a hearing when the parties waive the hearing in writing by stipulation; fees and fee waivers; and conduct when appearing by Zoom.
California > Sixth Appellate District > Monterey County > Superior Court of California, County of Monterey
Family Law Overview Family Law Court has jurisdiction over a wide range of cases that deal with Marriage, Child Custody, Child Visitation and Support. The party who starts the case is usually called the Petitioner and the party who did not start the case is usually known as the Respondent. Family Law Case Types Dissolution of Marriage (Divorce) Dissolution of Domestic Partnership Legal Separation Nullity (Annulment of Marriage or Domestic Partnership) Custody and Visitation Department of Child Support Services, Child Support Actions Domestic and Intimate Partner Violence - Restraining Orders (RO) Establish Parental Relationship (Paternity), Petitions for Custody and Support Guardianship of a Minor Adoption Termination of Parental Rights Marriage or Emancipation of Minors Hearing Location and Time Family law matters are heard at the Monterey Courthouse in Departments 16 and 17. Adoptions are heard in Department 13 at the Monterey Courthouse. Child Support is heard at the Marina Courthouse (Department 21). Family Law and Motion hearings (including Request for Order) are set at the Monterey Courthouse on the following days depending on the case number Cases ending in an odd number are heard on Mondays in Department 16 and are assigned to Judge Vallarta for all purposes. Cases ending in an even number are heard on Mondays in Department 17 and are assigned to Judge Whilden for all purposes. In the event there is a change in judicial assignment to any Department, including the Family Law Departments, the newly assigned judge is assigned for all purposes from the effective date of his or her assignment to that Department. Judicial assignments can be found on the Court’s website on the Judicial Assignments Page. As always, the court encourages all parties to meet and confer on all issues. If all parties agree in writing, you may request that the court rule on your filed noticed motion (Request for Order) without a hearing on the Monday Law and Motion Calendar. In order to have the court rule without holding a hearing, interested parties will be required to waive the hearing in writing by submitting a stipulation. After the stipulation is processed, the court will determine whether the filed motion (Request for Order) is appropriate for ruling without holding a hearing and, if so, will issue its ruling in writing. Child Support actions are set on Tuesdays in Department 21 beginning at 8:30 a.m. at the Marina Courthouse. Domestic Violence Restraining Orders are set on Tuesdays beginning at 8:30 a.m. in Department 16 at the Monterey Courthouse. Civil Harassment Restraining Orders are set on Tuesdays beginning at 1:30 p.m. in Department 16 at the Monterey Courthouse. Adoptions are set on Mondays at 8:30 a.m. in Department 13 at the Monterey Courthouse. Guardianships are set on Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m. in Department 13 at the Monterey Courthouse. Forms Family Law forms are accessible as follows Monterey County Superior Court website for Local Court Forms. Family Court Services Forms (Mediation, Fact Based Inquiry, Co-parenting etc...) Any court location, for purchase Fees Most filings require a filing fee. Filing fees must be paid at the time of filing You may ask the court to waive the filing fee if your household income falls below certain guidelines. To apply for a Fee Waiver you must complete and file a Fee Waiver Form, for more information see FW-001-Info . A current schedule of fees can be viewed at the following link: Fee Schedule Preparing for your court hearing: Read all your court papers. Make sure you understand what each form asks and what the other party has written. There will be many cases set and heard during each court session and your time to speak to the judicial officer may be limited. If you want to provide information or evidence, consider filing declarations or exhibits ahead of your hearing with any information or evidence you believe will help explain your requests or prove your claims. Make an outline listing what you want and why. Be ready to quickly explain why the judicial officer should approve each item you are asking for, or why the judicial officer should not approve something the other party is requesting and what you want the judicial officer to order instead. Make organized, short notes to summarize your point of view. Make a list of short responses to each point the other party made in their papers. Arrive early for your hearing. If you get nervous in court, look at your notes: check your list for each request or response you want the judicial officer to hear. If you are asking for court orders, make sure that the judicial officer makes an order on each request on your list. If a request you made is not mentioned as the judicial officer makes orders, remind the judicial officer as soon as you can. Speak slowly and clearly. Speak only when it is your turn, and not when another person is already speaking. If a party in your case is using an interpreter, speak in short sentences, and wait for the interpreter to finish before speaking, again. Do not bring children to court with you or have them in the room with you when appearing on Zoom unless you have been instructed to do so by the judicial officer or a court official. If you are appearing by Zoom, you must act as if you are in the courtroom; do not eat or drink, drive your car, or engage in activities that would be distracting, such as laying down, moving around, or making facial expressions or gestures while someone else is speaking. Keep your microphone on mute until the judicial officer asks you to speak. If another adult is in the room with you, you must have that person identify themselves when the judicial officer requests it. To appear by Zoom, you may need to file paperwork ahead of the hearing to be approved. Please see more information about Appearing by Zoom. Have you recently moved or have a change of address? Please update your information by filling out form MC-040. Please submit to the court through an e-filing service provider (Attorneys are mandated electronic filers) or US mail.
Family Law Overview Family Law Court has jurisdiction over a wide range of cases that deal with Marriage, Child Custody, Child Visitation and Support. The party who starts the case is usually called the Petitioner and the party who did not start the case is usually known as the Respondent. Family Law Case Types Dissolution of Marriage (Divorce) Dissolution of Domestic Partnership Legal Separation
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-10-07 (California T4 Monterey build 2026-10-07) from BenchPath custody ca/t4/ca-monterey/pages/divisions__family-child-custody.html (the page as fetched 2026-10-07; 638344 bytes, sha256 6fc58bc6fb2791a903dd92a6634598ccd224bc62157d44a6791bf07057a357ea) with html-compose.py (the Orange composer): the page's content sections (section.jcc-section, div.jcc-news-full) only - the site header, menus, breadcrumb, page title and footer lie outside them; each block starts a line and each table cell is set on its own line; chrome removed: 0 items; proof (the multiset of non-space characters equals the sections' text less chrome and scripts) passes. Review note: Local Rule 10.1 (A) holds the family law and motion calendars “at the time and place set by the Court”; the judges named agree with the judicial assignments effective October 5, 2026 (Departments 16 and 17).
6 verbatim requirements on divisional requirements in GIUSEPPINA MIRANDA's division.
4 verbatim requirements on divisional requirements in HILARY CREARY's division.
2 verbatim requirements on divisional requirements in NATASHA DEPRIMO's division.